Employability Bootcamp wins at MPA and TES FE Awards

Despite moving online this year due to COVID-19, the Employability Bootcamp has been recognised for industry excellence at the MPA awards in March. Now, The Manchester College have won the TES FE Employer Engagement award, which recognises the educational value of the Bootcamp.

Ideas Foundation have been a longstanding Manchester College partner, working together to deliver the Employability Bootcamp to Creative and Digital Media students. The Bootcamp was established five years ago to provide young people with work experience in the creative industries.

Initiatives like the Employability Bootcamp are what set The Manchester College apart; we provide students with work experience opportunities and mentorships which prepare them for the workplace in industries such as media, tech and communications.

What is the Employability Bootcamp?

The Employability Bootcamp consists of a series of challenges set by brands and agencies, before the students are paired with a creative industry mentor. The students work on real industry briefs, receive professional guidance from a mentor and gain invaluable work experience. The Bootcamp offers opportunities for students who may not have had these experiences otherwise. This is especially valuable during a year of lockdowns, to encourage and support students as they think about their future careers.

Ideas Foundation provide partnerships with employers, who become mentors to the students and provide them with work experience. We recruit mentors from across the creative digital media sector, from large and small employers as well as freelance creatives who work across the Greater Manchester area. This year we had almost 80 mentors taking part in the programme. Our mentors are fully trained and help mentees to develop their skills and confidence for the future.

The mentors recognise the importance of mentorship programmes like the Employability Bootcamp and how valuable they can be for personal development. Our mentors often highlight that they learn just as much from their mentees.

“Being able to boost Mia’s confidence, see her potential and show her ways to move forward and start making this a career for her was very exciting. It was brilliant to be able to help someone who was in a similar position to me at that point in their life and to better the way I taught too."

Rebecca Feneley, fashion illustrator and 2021 mentor.

If you’d like to find out more about becoming a mentor, contact ideas@ideasfoundation.org.uk