- This HEPI blog was kindly authored by Abi Pearson, Employability Project Assistant (Placement Year) at the University of Sheffield and a third-year BA Sociology with Social Policy student
At the University of Sheffield, the Law Family Ambition Programme aims to support the success of young men from pre-16 through to graduation and beyond, made possible through a philanthropic donation from the Law Family Charitable Foundation. The programme focuses on young men’s educational attainment and delivering support through a whole-provider approach, with targeted support from areas such as the Careers Service and Student Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
HEPI’s recent report on the educational underachievement of boys and young men provides evidence of the importance of qualifications, demonstrating the significance of programmes like Ambition working to get young men into higher education:
Men with no qualifications are nearly twice as likely to be unemployed as women with no qualifications but there is virtually no gender gap in unemployment rates for people who have two A-levels or equivalent.
As a placement student for the Careers and Employability Service, I acted as one of the Careers contacts for recipients of the Law Family Ambition Scholarship (‘Ambition Scholars’). I managed the Equal Opportunities in Careers scheme, tasked with hosting events and improving Careers Service provisions for widening participation students, including Ambition Scholars, as well as supporting the operational delivery of the Ambition Programme itself.
In the second half of my placement year, I was given the opportunity to lead an internship programme developed for Ambition Scholars and Equal Opportunities students at the University of Sheffield, in which I was able to contribute to change by connecting students to meaningful work experience. Ambition Scholars were given enhanced support at every stage of their application, with some Scholars who did not apply still reaching out to show appreciation at our readiness to support them.
Being able to work as a placement student in this area has been endlessly fascinating. From witnessing the success of Adolescence in conversations with University peers to working with the demographics its discourses concern, I have been given the rare opportunity to witness a new dimension to a world that I believed myself to be so familiar with in higher education.
In experiencing higher education practice as both a student and staff member, I also increasingly see the value of keeping students involved with work that affects them. I had the opportunity to work with many Scholars within the Ambition cohort, as well as support the recruitment of an Ambition Student Intern in the Careers Service and work with them for the duration of their internship. The Intern provided us with Scholar insights during various pursuits, ensuring that practice was consistently student-centred and appropriately pragmatic, ending his internship by co-leading a session for staff in the Operations Group based on the recommendations of himself and fellow Scholars.
Working on this programme has certainly come with challenges. As is the problem for others across the sector, finding a communication style that works for our key demographic remains difficult as well as attempts at community-building for Scholars who perhaps do not see a benefit in connecting with students from similar backgrounds to themselves once arriving at University. This has meant that engagement with support services and events remains low and relatively unchanging throughout Scholars’ journeys.
However, in this regard, I was taught one of many defining lessons of my placement year: lack of engagement and success are not mutually exclusive. During some focus groups I was able to lead on, Scholars often remarked that, despite not engaging with much of the support offered within Ambition, the safety net of the programme itself was one of its most valuable assets. It is possible that, for students, success in a programme like this is not defined by its popularity, but rather its durability and consistency through unprecedented times for young people and higher education. This approach means that Scholars are able to thrive on their own terms at University, in the knowledge that there is always a team there to support them.
And so, as my placement draws to a close, my key reflection is thus: taking a Placement Year at your own University is well worth it. The microcosm of the world that universities present allows me to return to my final year with a multiperspectivity which will benefit me in finishing my degree and beyond. Working on the Ambition Programme, especially, has given me the chance to contribute to challenging belief systems whilst simultaneously experiencing the development of my own, advancing my personal as well as my professional development beyond what I could have imagined at the start.