Sharon Rai is Entrepreneur Development Manager for the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator programme in Milton Keynes.

“I have been here for almost 2 years. Initially I joined as an Acceleration Manager, coaching our Entrepreneurs, and then was promoted to Development Manager, responsible for building the Entrepreneurship community in Milton Keynes and surrounding areas. I work to build the right connections and contacts for our Entrepreneurs, and represent the Entrepreneurship strategy in our area”.

“The first Career WorkOut I did was literally because I was looking at ways of being able to support my local community and really liked what Worktree were doing. Having attended the first session, I realised how engaging, and useful the sessions are to the students. The students ask lots of great questions, and as a volunteer you’re able to provide insight into your own career experience. Let’s face it, not everyone knows exactly what they want to do with their career at 16, and with the world of work changing so rapidly, our young people tend to feel a lot of pressure as well as competition to do well. The Career WorkOuts, bring an element of realism and the volunteers shed a light on work-life that can be far more interesting than a purely academic view. The volunteers are open, honest and the students appreciate this”.

“I have attended Career WorkOuts at Oakgrove School. In terms of giving my time back to the community, Worktree make this very straight forward and easy. I just registered for a place and session that suited me, turned up and spoke to loads of students about my career choices. The hour flies by, and there’s no prep needed.”.

“I ensured that when speaking with the children that I used every day language, was open and honest and focused on how I developed transferable skills and continue to do so. The children can sometimes find the world of work daunting and being there reminded me of how I felt at that age. I also was quite reflective afterwards and the session was a really positive way to reflect on my own career choices. I love the work I do now, and it’s great fun being able to share with the students why I do what I do”.

“We’ve all been there, and so why not give Worktree some time and talk to the students about your own journey, you never know who you may inspire!”

To sign up for your Career WorkOut session, please visit www.worktree.org or contact bhupinder.roda@worktree.org