Careers Sneak-a-Peek – UpSkill Me

The first speaker in the Foundation for Life Sneak-A-Peek Speaker Series was guest speaker, entrepreneur, and old Witleian, Lucy Cranwell-Ward. Lucy’s presentation, focusing on entrepreneurship, was presented to our Upper and Lower Sixth Form last week. Lucy gave pupils insights into different career pathways, as well as tips in finding the career path that is right for them. Introduced by our Head of Careers and Higher Education Mrs Moira Davies, the talk was presented live to Sixth Form pupils on site, as well as livestreamed on Zoom to those who wanted to watch from home.

Lucy started at King Edward’s in 2000 as a bursary pupil, and stayed with the School until 2006, when she went on to do a

degree at Manchester University. After working several jobs in HR and business, including in Australia, Lucy found that young people were struggling to show employers all of their skills and experiences in a clear manner. This led to the creation of UpSkill Me, a digital platform designed for teenagers and schools, that helps young people develop and record transferable skills and helps employers better connect with unnoticed young talent. The platform also showcases work experience opportunities and virtual open days for UK universities so pupils can better prepare for their next steps beyond King Edwards’s.

Now the driving force behind this new start up, Lucy explained her journey into entrepreneurship, how she stared her own company, gave advice on where to find inspiration, how to find investors and the right steps to take to get your company off the ground. She went on to encourage pupils not only to consider what they are good at and what they enjoy, but what they want from a future career, giving examples from her days at King Edward’s that made her realise the future she wanted.

King Edward’s is one of only 20 schools in the UK to have partnered with UpSkill Me. The platform is being launched across the school for all students to use as part of the Foundation For Life Careers Programme. COVID permitting, the Careers Department hopes to continue running these Speaker Series every month with the next speaker and former Old Witliean, Declan Tonks presenting his career journey in using cutting edge technology in the Healthcare Industry on Wednesday 14th October.

For any further questions on the FFL Sneak-A-Peek Speaker series, or other career-related matter please contact our Head of Careers and Higher Education Mrs Moira Davies at daviesm@kesw.org.