As part of our ongoing careers programme, we were delighted to welcome Sarah Butler, the Director of Higher Education and Careers at Reed’s School, to present to the boys on the changing landscape of careers.
For our Year 6 boys, this was very much an introduction to the world of work. Whilst, for the Year 7 and Year 8 boys, the talk continued to consolidate their thinking about choices that they may make in the near future. Mrs Butler spoke about the need for skills rather than knowledge. This is by no means undermining the importance of qualifications, but of how skills complement job applications by showing candidates as a whole person.
Mrs Butler looked at critical thinking, initiative, collaboration, communication, agility and curiosity individually, and gave clear examples for each skill. This links to our work within Drama and Problem Based Learning as well as our wider school initiatives focusing on Intellectual Characteristics and being Future Smart.
The boys were particularly interested in her exploration of how facts are presented and then twisted for purpose. They also enjoyed the character focus on Elon Musk. Most of all, the boys were fascinated by the focus on the future of AI and robotics as well as their threat to the jobs as we know them.
