Do you know about the Institutes?

Pretty much every industry and service has some sort of organisation that represents them and brings together the companies and people working in that world.

They can do a whole bunch of things...they lobby on behalf of the industry making sure e.g. the government knows what the issues are in their sector, they might oversee some key training and development programmes for people working in the sector, and they have an absolutely crucial role in promoting the sector. And that’s where you can benefit.

The Institutes and other trade bodies work hard to ensure that talented young people are attracted to working in their world. They sometimes run open events that potential employees and apprentices can attend. They will probably have a regional officer who can hook you up with some of the key local people working in that sector, and most will have social media channels that you can follow, updating you with videos and announcements......all great background work for your interview.

I was at a school on Friday with a young man who wanted to be a mechanical engineer....and so we checked out the Institute of Mechanical Engineers...and what a great resource it was. One young lady wanted to work in biomedical engineering - a quick online search found the Oxford Institute of Biomedical Engineers - and now she can make contact with people in that industry and start to follow her dream.

Search online for the Institute that represents the sector you’d like to work in and make full use of the resources, membership and contact they can offer....

to help you get ‘My Great First Job’.