National Careers Week runs from 4-9 March and the theme for this year is 'Your Future' - a celebration of careers guidance and free resources in education across the UK.
At NatWest Group we’re no strangers to championing the potential of young people all year round, notably through our CareerSense, MoneySense and NatWest Thrive programmes.
Find Your Path programme
Our support for young people relies on the dedication of colleagues across the UK who volunteer their time and expertise to benefit their own communities, colleagues like Bristol-based Matt Hatcher, Director of Commercial Banking in the West of England.
Matt’s taken part taken part in the CareerSense Find Your Path programme. Find Your Path equips 16-24 year olds who are not in education, employment or training with vital skills development, mentoring and paid work experience. Many of these young people are facing barriers to employment, caught in a cycle of limited experience and often with low expectations of themselves and from those around them. Find Your Path helps to build their confidence over several weeks and allows them the space to understand their own skills and strengths better, as well as what they might want to do next.
Hear from Matt
"I’ve been a Director of Commercial Banking in the West of England since 2014 and I’ve spent most of my career working in the Corporate and Commercial Coverage business, predominantly in the South West of England."
"Bristol is a wonderful city in so many different ways, but like other cities it does suffer levels of inequality and deprivation and that is holding back the potential of so many young people. That’s what motivated me to get involved in the CareerSense Find Your Path programme."
Giving back
"Before I joined the bank in 1989, I was fortunate enough to take part in a work experience placement at our Queens Road branch and learned so much from this, and for me this programme is all about giving something back and helping the younger generation see their potential."
"I’ve been a host manager for CareerSense Find Your Path for two years now, which involves working closely with the young people on their learning activities over their four-week work experience placement and helping bring the programme to life by introducing them to colleagues across the bank via our Regional Boards."
"The latest young people I hosted were James and Jack and, although their work experience programme came to an end in December, I still keep in contact with them to see how their careers are progressing. I caught up with James recently and he is hopeful of securing an internship at Aardman Animations and continuing to develop his coding skills. The Find Your Path programme has given him the confidence to pursue opportunities like Aardman himself."
Confidence and self-belief
"There are so many things that stand out from this programme – when you first meet the students ahead of their placements they’re naturally nervous ahead of their first week and are wondering what to expect. It’s completely understandable as, for many, this is the first paid work they’ve undertaken. Then, in a very short space of time you see them immerse themselves in the activities, build new friendships and you see their confidence and self-belief grow as each week goes by. They continually learn new skills, almost every day - problem solving, mindsets, team working and the like. By the end of the programme, you can see they have a totally different perception of the different career pathways available to them, both here at NatWest Group and elsewhere."
"It’s so satisfying and motivating to see the impact this programme has on the young students and that your coaching and guidance is helping them move towards a more exciting and independent future."
Our volunteering culture
"I’ve been fortunate enough to have a very supportive line manager and team while volunteering for this programme, coupled with being able to use NatWest Group’s three days of volunteering leave that we get each year."
"I’m really proud of the collective effort of colleagues across the bank here in Bristol and the South West - last year, we had more than 15 mentors and hosts.”
Our support for National Careers Week
Our CareerSense Programme Manager Naomi Puri on the importance of National Careers Week and supporting young people across the UK:
“We’re delighted to again sponsor National Careers Week where we can all play our part in making a positive impact to youth employment in our local communities, empowering young people to make better informed decisions about their future.”
"We're helping young people to thrive and take control of their future by offering them fantastic opportunities through our Intern, Graduate, Apprenticeship or CareerSense programmes. We know that young people today can't always access regular, informative, or impactful careers education content which is why what we’re doing is so important.”
"A big thank you to Ablaze as well - one of our CareerSense youth delivery partners in Bristol. Ablaze supports young people in the West of England, equipping them with skills and experiences to raise their confidence and widen their aspirations."
