Two major UK employers, Volkswagen Group and Colas, have joined forces with new careers app, Spark, to host virtual employer engagement events for students as part of National Careers Week.
Taking place 1st – 6th March 2021, National Careers Week aims to empower positive change through careers education by helping students create successful futures following GCSE and Sixth Form.
With the majority of students learning remotely until the week commencing 8th March 2021, employers, like Volkswagen Group and Colas, have turned to Spark to host virtual employer engagement sessions that will not only provide the opportunity for students to learn and ask questions about the variety of career options available in each industry through a live panel of young employees, but will also help education establishments deliver on the Gatsby 5 Benchmark for employer encounters.
Renowned motoring organisation, the Volkswagen Group, is working with Spark to deliver a live employer engagement event on ‘Automotive Careers – The Move to Electric’, which is supported by the Institute of the Motor Industry and will take place on 2nd March 2021 at 10.00am.
In contrast, award-winning contractor for the UK’s transport infrastructure, Colas is working in partnership with Spark to deliver a live employer engagement event on ‘Civil Engineering & Highways Careers’, which will take place on 4th March 2021 at 10.30am.
Once registered, education establishments will receive a unique code for students to create their own free account and register for the live event, all from the free Spark app which can be accessed from any smartphone device.
David Black, Chairman of Spark and previous Education Advisor to Barclays Bank and the BBC, confirmed: “National Careers Week has been a key event on the education calendar for 10 years now and has always served to help and inspire students in thinking positively about their future. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 will certainly be different, however, the national initiative has never been more critical with millions of students continuing to operate remotely and with potential concern about what the future may hold.
The new Spark app has been created to overcome this challenge, whilst providing schools and students with a valuable resource that ‘sparks’ interest and inspires students to think about their future beyond the current pandemic. As a result, we are very excited to have partnered with both Volkswagen and Colas for dedicated National Careers Week employer engagement events and hope to welcome thousands of schools and students UK wide.”
Originally founded in 2018, Spark boasts a proven track record in delivering live employer engagement events to Schools across the country, featuring key employers like the Royal Navy, BMW and the NHS.
Following the outbreak of COVID-19, Spark ‘pivoted’ its approach and developed a new smartphone app to virtually deliver careers support to School, College and University Students across the country. In addition to live employer engagement events, Students can also benefit from an interactive careers quiz, access to information on over 350 occupations and the opportunity to speak to their Careers Leader through a chat function within the app.
