Companies invited to apply to become a member of The Curious Collective
We have opened up applications for ambitious and growing companies to join The Curious Collective, contact us to learn more
This is not a charter or manifesto; the Curious Collective is about positive action. It is for companies who have reached the conclusion that bright young talent is essential for the growth of their businesses. This is not a graduate scheme, this is opening up a new and diverse pool of talent for your business.
Our vision is to bring together a group of companies based in the Thames Valley who are passionate about actively developing and investing in next generation talent.
We call this group The Curious Collective
What’s in it for you?
Access to an untapped talent pool that is motivated to learn and building the soft skills required by business
We pipeline for you and assess each individual throughout the process, therefore de-risking the hire
A collective voice when hiring talent for your business
A badge of honour to enhance your employer brand as an investor in diverse talent pools, demonstrating you are an open and progressive employer.
Opportunities for your teams to mentor to enhance with career development
Social impact. The Curious Lounge is a Community Interest Company so any profits we make are reinvested into further upskilling the region.
How does it work?
The programme intends to expand horizons, develop work ready skills and create off-boarding opportunities by way of work experience, kick start placements, internships, apprenticeships or hiring into roles. Participants will be taken through a boot camp to learn modern workplace essentials (sales, marketing, project management, data analysis etc) and then experience different job roles through these work placements.
Why does it exist?
For the Thames Valley to remain competitive as a region it is imperative that businesses adopt a collaborative and proactive approach to addressing the skills gap. This is not a CSR project, this is about creating meaningful, tangible impact for young people across the Thames Valley and equipping them with the skills and confidence to enter the workplace.
What initiatives can you get involved in?
Our aim is to work with employers to create learning content that is aligned to local skills needs. From ‘intro to’ sessions, master classes and bootcamps through to career specific or technology platform academies. The first initiative we are launching is the Work Ready Bootcamp.
Cohorts of young adults will be taught essential modern business skills twice a week for six weeks, with facilitated learning totalling 48 hours. Projects will be set at the end of each session to put the learning into practise. Assignments will be discussed and shared at the start of the following week's lessons. All training will be delivered by business mentors (those using the skills in day-to-day business environments). Employers will be asked to offer students work experience, kick start placements, internships or apprenticeships.
Topics will be shaped with those employers engaging with the programme (and offering off-boarding opportunities) but we envisage the following:
Project Management - what is Project Management? what is a risk?, balancing cost, quality and time
Marketing - digital platforms & tools, storytelling, analytics, SEO
Sales - the fundamentals of sales, how to identify target customers, how to make a sales call, how to handle objections
Agile methodology - what is Agile, why should you be using it, most common methodologies, who is in an Agile team, set up your Agile team
Data - why is data so important, data analytics, data visualisation, tools used with data
Problem Solving - immersive problem solving session, development feedback from assessors
Employability - LinkedIn, CV writing, interview techniques, tips for job applications
Presentations - public speaking, the art of beautiful presentations, the perfect pitch