We were excited to extend our collaboration with Steelcase, a global leader in office furniture design and manufacturing, by hosting our third Career Insight Day for young people.
The day provided a unique opportunity for those keen on exploring the creative industries, engineering, architecture, or psychology to witness firsthand how these disciplines are employed in professional settings.
Held in Steelcase's stylish central London ‘Worklife’ office, students learnt the critical thinking steps to design enticing spaces to work or study. They also discovered how these spaces are expertly curated to meet a client need and make the workplace enjoyable.
Getting stuck in
Students were put into groups and tasked with a practical design activity. This enabled them to apply the concepts they'd learnt to create functional and beautiful work or study space of their choice.
Steelcase staff gave expert guidance as students collaborated with each other to bring their ideas to life. They then presented their concepts as a group to all attendees and other Steelcase designers.
Developing the skills of tomorrow
They were given a chance hear from a guest speaker Fitzroy Godfrey, a Project Director in Workplace & Furniture Design, as he shared his career journey and practical tips to excel in the industry.
“Sometimes the only degree you need, is a degree of confidence” - Fitzroy Godfrey.
He explained that there are a variety non-design subjects and skills that lend themselves well to the industry. Your drawing skills don’t need to be perfect as there are a number of different ways to get your ideas across.
Students were encouraged to learn that there's not one route into the industry. They also discovered that career journeys are rarely linear and it's OK to try different roles and move around the industry.
Creativity & collaboration was the main message of the day!
Feedback on the day
"All the activities that we done were very enjoyable and we've learnt very valuable skills that I can take into the wider world"
"I think the office design was the best I've ever seen....it reflects that they're good at what they do, designing workspaces"
"I didn't know that the Design industry actually put so much effort and thought behind the littlest things but had such great effect towards them, which was really nice to find out.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Steelcase London team for their coordination and making the event hugely valuable for the young people involved. Not forgetting our invaluable volunteers for sparing their time to support the day.
What next?
As a youth charity creating an equal start line for young people, we're committed to ensuring that opportunities like these are available regardless of ethnic or social backgrounds.
If you'd like to join our WYZ For Work programme to gain skills for employment and access work experience, you can get started for free here.
If you're an organisation that would like to partner with us to offer work experience opportunities, please email us at info@openpalm.org.uk.