The Employees You Need Tomorrow Are in School Today
The Employees You Need Tomorrow Are in School Today
What would you teach your 16-year-old self about business, work and life?
Presented by Denise Pitot, CEO
The workforce businesses will depend on tomorrow is already sitting in classrooms today.
But while young people may leave education with qualifications, many still enter the workplace without the confidence, communication skills, commercial awareness and real-world understanding employers increasingly value.
This interactive workshop turns the conversation back on business owners, leaders and professionals:
What do you know now about work, money, communication, resilience, failure and opportunity that you wish someone had taught you at 16?
Together, we will explore the growing gap between education and work-readiness, the skills and behaviours businesses really want from future employees, and the role employers can play in helping young people prepare for the opportunities ahead.
Rather than simply asking whether young people are ready for the workplace, this session asks an equally important question:
What can businesses do to help make them ready?
What You’ll Take Away
By the end of the session, participants will:
Identify the skills, attitudes and behaviours they most value in future employees.
Reflect on what they wish they had learned earlier about business, work, money and life.
Explore why confidence, communication, resilience, initiative and personal agency matter alongside academic qualifications.
Consider the growing gap between qualifications and workplace readiness.
Identify practical ways businesses can support young people through mentoring, work experience, career insight, skills development and exposure to the world of business.
Consider how investing in the next generation can also strengthen future talent pipelines and workforce readiness.
Who Should Attend?
This workshop is particularly relevant for:
Business owners and founders
Employers and senior leaders
HR, People and Talent professionals
Entrepreneurs
Education and employability professionals
Mentors and coaches
Organisations interested in social impact and youth development
Anyone passionate about preparing young people for the future of work
About the Session
This is designed to be an interactive and thought-provoking conversation rather than a traditional lecture.
Attendees will be encouraged to share their own experiences, reflect on lessons learned throughout their careers and consider how those insights could help equip the next generation to enter the workplace with greater confidence, awareness and ambition.
Presented by Denise Pitot, CEO