Since SOLOS pledged to support the Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s Youth Charter earlier this year we have supported a number of events at local schools and colleges in the Nottingham area. The events themselves have varied from one on one interview skills with students to presenting to hundreds of participants in a school hall.

But whatever the format the result is invariably the same – motivational and inspirational.

Many schools in Nottingham cover catchment areas that are not considered privileged and it is these students that often are a joy to engage with. They may have ideas and aspirations but in chatting and bouncing ideas with them you can see the difference that your conversation might make in the long term.

A great example is the young man I met who wanted to be a bricklayer. He was almost apologetic about the limitations of his ambition – but that’s all he wanted to be. A trained bricklayer. My response? Where would all the doctors, rocket scientists and other professionals live if we didn’t have great bricklayers? In society we need every level of ambition and it doesn’t matter what you aspire to be – just aspire to be the best.

Whilst schools are stretched to the limit helping students achieve their exam grades external volunteers can make a huge difference by offering advice on interview techniques, CV writing and other employment skills. The next generation communicate via technology most often. The days of picking up the telephone for a conversation are long gone for these young people. Therefore just having a face to face conversation with a volunteer will push new boundaries and test their interpersonal skills.

There is a huge pool of talent out there in your local schools – why not see if you can help make a difference?