Beginning on Monday 7 March, Eton College’s National Careers Week (NCW) brought together Etonians, employers and pupils from local schools to gain important insights into the world of work, and to be inspired about possible career horizons.
On Monday, 25 Year 9 pupils and their tutors learnt about the ‘World of Work’ through a workshop which utilised the medium of trump cards. Simultaneously, 30 Etonians interested in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its applications participated in webinars live-streamed from the US, where they heard from Google, IBM, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft about the key concepts of AI, machine learning and data analysis.
Tuesday saw a first for the Career Education Department, as Father and son Old Etonians, Iain and Tom Little, came to talk to VocSoc about their careers in asset management in a two-for-the-price-of-one deal! They explained the evolution of asset management, which has been inspired by digitisation and democratisation. They also spoke to the audience about the links between investment management, marketing and regulation/compliance, which helped pupils understand the different skills involved in each facet of the business.
Our Law Networking event on Wednesday brought over 50 pupils from three schools together with 12 lawyers from a range of different specialities, and at different points in their career tracks. A busy Queen’s Schools was witness to animated discussions, with many excellent questions posed to the law professionals.
Also on Wednesday, a small group of Year 10 pupils met with TexpertAI, a company specialising in AI who provided an illuminating introduction into the ways AI can be used in staff recruitment. Occasionally, the algorithms used can lead to unintended bias against particular demographics (e.g. failure to be gender-neutral) and the pupils discovered the inherent risk of bias can be mitigated through the use of online platforms.
To round off NCW, VocSoc ran a career seminar on Thursday which introduced pupils to the way industrial psychologists seek to transform organisations and create better working systems that take account of the human factor. The talk was given by Mr Andrew Lopianowski of PwC, speaking in a personal capacity.
Throughout NCW, a stream of pupils visited St Christopher’s House to talk to Career Education staff seeking work experience opportunities and developing their CVs to support applications.
