Early career: three ways to empower tomorrow’s workforce

Youth unemployment reached an 11-year peak earlier this year. Kathryn Scott is the HR director at Canon UK & Ireland. She says that despite the challenges, we have a unique opportunity to transform the way young people enter the workforce.

I think we should take on the responsibility of supporting young people and helping them to develop their skills so they can enter the workplace with confidence. Businesses in the UK have the opportunity to develop the talent of many bright, ambitious young people.

In my position, I have seen how Canon’s Kyosei Philosophy of working and living together for the greater good can create opportunities. This philosophy has three main lessons for how to effectively support young people: Start early, continue and create a culture that encourages continuous learning.

Early support for young people

Early engagement and support of young people has had the greatest impact on me. Supporting young people at their most crucial stage in life helps them develop the skills, self-confidence and independence that they need for a bright future.

We are proud to support ThinkForward’s Future Leaders Programme, which supports Black women and men, as well as young South Asian women who have been excluded or may be at risk of exclusion from mainstream education.

The programme provides 251 young people with personalised coaching and employability training in Brent, Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham.

Our volunteers, who are part of our network of black, Asian, and minority-ethnic employees, shared their experiences with students, including their current career, the skills required for their job, and their typical day. Our employees can be role models for young people, and help them discover new career options that they might not have considered otherwise.

Storytelling can be a powerful tool for bringing about change. Canon’s Young People Programme equips the next generation with the tools, skills and resources needed to tell stories about social and environmental issues they care most about, using our cutting-edge image technology.

We have reached more than 5,750 youths through this initiative. This has been achieved by collaborating with over 50 charity partners in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Recently, we held two story-telling workshops in Ilford, London. We helped young people explore the power of photography and visual storytelling to give them a voice.

Talent development and retention requires a follow-through.

Apprenticeship programmes are a great way for businesses to invest in the future leaders of their industry and train new workers. Apprenticeships should not be just a means to gain entry into the workforce for young people. We need to encourage long-term growth and make the most of the talent pool we have available.

Canon offers a range of apprenticeships, from Level 2 Engineering operative to Level 7, as well as marketing, IT, and software programming.

We’ve also seen the tangible results of our apprenticeship programme, as many participants have become full-time staff. Two former apprentices are currently working as full-time employees in our Bid and Proposals department. We’ve hired a young woman permanently in my team who we met during one of our “employability” and “skills” work experience events.

We want to give young people real opportunities, not just tick-box exercises. Only through a commitment over the long term will we be able nurture our next generation.

Create a culture of continual learning

In my career I have always placed a high priority on building a culture that encourages continuous learning. This means that I encourage everyone, from our interns at the undergraduate level to our senior managers, to be open to new concepts and ideas to help them develop their roles within the company. Canon embraces a growth-oriented mindset.

We see our efforts to support genuine professional and personal growth when we inspire young people in school with new opportunities and help them enter the workplace for the first through our apprenticeship programs.

All employees should have the opportunity to grow, even leaders. HR can help to support long-lasting careers by encouraging a culture that encourages continuous learning and skill improvement.

We want to create a level playing field, and open the door wider so we can embrace diversity and new perspectives. We will benefit more from diversity in future years if we work harder and invest more in finding broader talent pools.

Canon’s programmes to empower young people support this ambition. This effort to reach a wider talent pool will help us remain relevant in the future and be able to continue being a leader.

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