Transcriber: Charlotte Coveney Reviewer: Tanya Cushman
Thank you. Okay.
So,
I'd just like to start by looking at a definition of education.
Education is defined as the process
of giving or receiving systematic instruction,
especially at school or university.
Now, for me, the word here - "systematic" -
kind of sums up a lot of what's wrong with education.
In my experience,
we tend to stick to one main model within mainstream education,
and this model is dated and it's static,
and as a result of this,
we've got many people leaving the system
with a very poor idea
of how to cope with the world of work after school or university.
Now, one of the ways I see that we can progress with this
and change this
is by promoting and supporting vocational education models.
Now, over the past year,
I've been working with the Ideas Foundation,
which is a charity which seeks to identify and nurture young creative talents.
And with the Ideas Foundation,
I've had the opportunity to work on real, live, work-based projects
and, in fact,
go on to run some projects with young people
which collaborate with the industry
and work with creative professionals as mentors.
Now, by learning in this way,
it showed me that an education
that prepares you for after school or university
is made up primarily really of three things.
The first one is knowledge.
Not just in the general sense,
but knowledge that is applicable to your passion
and that is taught to you in a way that clicks
with the way that your mind works and the way that you think
and encompasses relevant technologies in order to teach you.
The second is skills.
And so, applying yourself to a process
so that you can see how and why something is working.
And thirdly, and most importantly to me,
is passion.
I really feel that the Ideas Foundation has nurtured my passion
and has given me a clear outlook for my strengths.
And this has really helped in making decisions
about my future career and my education,
and I feel extremely lucky that I'm able to make these choices
after having these opportunities
because I see many of my friends choosing to do degrees
because it's the only route that's promoted to them.
It's not necessarily that they've got a strong passion for it,
but they feel they should do it
because it's the only thing they see as possible.
And it really does annoy me
that vocational education is looked at as so second class to a degree
despite the fact
that so many graduates are coming through just ill-prepared for the world of work.
And employers are echoing this fact.
Let me give you an example.
As part of his final year of study,
a friend of mine had to do a survey across 30 recent graduates
about employment prospects.
And out of the 30 that he surveyed,
only two of them had managed to secure jobs
within six months of graduating.
I think that's quite shocking really -
2 out of 30.
And the consensus from the rest
wasn't necessarily the fact that they felt that the jobs weren't available,
but it was that they felt that they were ill-prepared for the world of work
and that they were unable to distinguish themselves
from the thousands of other graduates
who actually, on paper, look exactly the same as them.
Now, the path that I'm taking is vocationally based
and is based around the collaboration of industry and education
because I've got a scholarship into the School of Communication Arts.
Now, the School of Communication Arts is an advertising school
which collaborates with the industry
and has professional mentors
who work within the creative industries to mentor the students.
The curriculum of the school
is also in constant collaboration with the industry,
so it's constantly changing,
and subsequently, when I go next year,
it will be completely different to what it's like now
and I'll be learning using relevant approaches and technologies
that are applicable to the industry as it stands at that point.
And my pledge to you today
is to open up opportunities within the creative industries
for young people in rural areas.
I've been travelling all the way from Devon
to take part in the experiences I've had,
and I'd now like to pass on my experience and my knowledge and my passions
onto more young people
so that they can see what opportunities are out there for them.
And I'd just like to leave you with this thought.
Creativity is a cycle. Peddle it.
Thank you.
(Applause)
Sophie Bosworth.