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FANTASTIC OPPORTUNITY: STEM engineers and students gathered at last year’s YFYA event

LAUNCHED IN 2012, Your Future, Your Ambition (YFYA) started as a small initiative with big hopes - to educate, inspire and encourage school children and young people with limited access mentors, coaching and advice, to pursue studies and careers in science, technology, engineering and maths, or, STEM.

Fast-forward six years, and the award-winning YFYA has gone from strength to strength. With a complete rebrand, national-level company endorsements and founder Rashada Harry at the helm, 2017 is set to be their best year yet.

The YFYA event, being held tomorrow (October 5) will bring together some 900 young people aged seven to 21 and 20 organisations from across the STEM industry at the prestigious Emirates Stadium in north London.

Long-standing patrons including BP, Bloomberg, EY and National Grid, as well as welcomed additions ITV, De La Rue and Cambridge University, will come together for a fun-filled day of inspiring workshops, career advice and interactive opportunities to showcase the breadth of opportunities in the STEM industry.

Harry, YFYA founder said:

EMPOWERING: Your Future, Your Ambition (YFYA) founder Rashada Harry

“The STEM industry continues to shape the UK’s private and public sectors and plays a pivotal role in the growth of our economy.

“At YFYA, we host these events because we believe young people from all diversity strands are tomorrow’s innovators and trailblazers. They bring different perspectives to business and invaluable insight into what is expected from their future employers. Young people are integral to the future of our industry.”

Far from being complacent and riding on its success, YFYA is rapidly growing and expanding into exciting new areas. With the support of its network, it will be launching a new initiative, YFYA Meets, at this year’s event. This will be a platform which gives young people the opportunity to shadow and gain much sought-after work experience at some of the UK’s top STEM organisations.

Mentoring forms a big part of the YFYA event, as this is an opportunity for role models presently working in industry to share their experiences and give solid tips for those considering their options.

Each volunteer attending the event is a role model at a top STEM organisation and is someone that the young people can approach and ask questions about real-life jobs, and most importantly learn about the skills required to progress to the next level and perhaps meet a future employer.

OLDER ATTENDEES

Older attendees are encouraged to bring a CV along and attend the CV workshops happening during the day, as well as the life skills sessions, where they can gain insights into how to dress for their next role, how to be a leader and what skills they already have that will be useful later on in life.

There is also the opportunity to see the technology and engineering under the bonnet of a Formula 1 car, gain insights into how lighting and TV works, understand in-depth the world of virtual reality and 3D printing, as well as learn about the chemistry the behind bacteria on your hands.

Confirmed corporate organisations for 2017 include: BP, Bloomberg, Deloitte, EY, De La Rue, ITV, National Grid, P&G, Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest, Arsenal in the Community, Transport for London, SAP, VM-ware, Vodafone and many more.

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