We had an enjoyable day at the Form the Future annual conference held on 1st December at the Moller Centre in Cambridge. Many of us are responsible for hiring, and certainly working with colleagues of all generations, so this was an insightful day on how we can better engage.
“We don’t learn work skills at school, we learn through experience”
Ryan Kelsall, Eastern Learning Alliance
James talked to Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, who spoke at the conference about human potential and career expectations, how the school career system isn’t fit for purpose, and the inevitable growth of Cambridge’s tech cluster
Tyler Shores, Think Lab, University of Cambridge, talks about their latest ‘first day of work’ research and the various approaches companies take, how informal onboarding helps, and how to address neurodiversity.
Charlotte Stegall, WTW (Wills Tower Watson) considers the language we use to engage with younger generations. We talk about over-labouring constructs such as names of ages i.e. GenZ & Millenials whilst ensuring we understand their needs in the workplace i.e. they are likely still in a home-share or at home, so coming to the office and working with colleagues is vital. Charlotte also challenges the tech space to bring more apprenticeships into the workforce.
We talk about how Abcam is making DEI part of their focus with Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Miguela Gonzales. It was an eye-opening discussion as there’s the overall topic os DEI and needing to stay curious, but it’s also very process orientated to eliminate systemic issues, including setting up structures, processes, accountability, and to understand the law.
Head Teacher Rae Snape shares how children need experiences when they’re as young as 6 to understand what type of opportunities are open to them and challenges our local tech companies to send more people into schools to showcase what they can do.
And we close the day with the legendary founder of Form the Future, Anne Bailey who is passionate about bridging the gap between employees and young people:
“We are in the business of human potential”.
In this week’s updates and news: Peter Cowley PublicSuccess-PrivateGrief, ARM, IQGeo, Riverlane, and Sensoriis.
To listen and subscribe, search for ‘Cambridge Tech Podcast’ on your favourite podcasting platform or visit cambridgetechpodcast.com.