Plotting out a great future for young people

A shared commitment to give young people the best possible pathway into employment brought together delegates at a roadshow hosted by Warwickshire County Council.

Old Shire Hall was the grand venue for the PlotR pilot roadshow but while the setting was historic the theme was entirely modern: how to help youngsters into work in the 21st century.

PlotR, an independent, not-for-profit organisation, is a new website created to help young people aged 11-24 discover options ahead of them. It is built around 'The Game' which uncovers career options matched to each youngster's skills, interests and personality.

PlotR aims to bring all the experience and opportunities that employers can offer together into one place. It is a place which is becoming more and more familiar to job-hunters with the site visited by more 20,000 unique users each month.

Warwickshire County Council is among the employers with a profile on PlotR for young people to find and learn about. The council further underlined its commitment to youth employment by hosting the day-long event.

Head of Schools Outreach at PlotR, Laura-Jane Rawlings, said: "It is brilliant that Warwickshire County Council hosted the event, and in such an amazing building. It is that sort of support which allows us to offer the service to young people for free and we very much appreciate their generosity.

"We get wonderful support from employers like WCC and that shows that there is a real desire among employers to do whatever they can to help young people find the right career direction."

The roadshow was attended by training and employment organisations, education providers and key local businesses including National Grid, Network Rail, Jaguar Land Rover and Asda.

In a series of workshops, visitors heard how PlotR is designed to benefit all parties, most importantly providing career guidance for young people while also offering practical support for teachers and a rich source of potential high-quality recruits for employers.

It is also a great help to parents and carers, as Warwickshire County Council's head of human resources Sue Evans testified.

Sue said: "I have a 21-year-old and an 18-year-old and went through the PlotR test with them. It really opened our eyes to a range of options we did not know about. My daughter actually said 'wow' and it was great to see her really engaged by the new ideas.

"At Warwickshire County Council we do our very best to encourage young people into our workforce. Ensuring economic growth and access to quality jobs locally is a big priority for the council and we see young people as a key part of that. That's why we are involved with PlotR."

With 46 apprentices currently learning trades as diverse as forestry and highways to accountancy and community engagement within the council, WCC is very much backing up its words with action.

Laura-Jane Rawlings said: "From talking to young people it is clear that one of the biggest barriers to them has been the lack of careers education around for them. They don't know where to start.

"So PlotR is all about opening their eyes to what is out there. Young people are right at the heart of the project but we also work very closely with employers because we believe the best people to supply information, insight and advice on careers are the employers and staff that live and breathe those careers every day.

"Because of the unique value that employers hold for young people, we intelligently map employer-content and live opportunities into the psychometrically-driven user journeys on PlotR.

 "PlotR is all about inspiring children to be the best they can in a way that fits who they are."

 Visit PLotRon https://www.plotr.co.uk