Students impress BBC talent at ‘Leeds International Festival of Ideas’ event

We were delighted to welcome over 400 students to our ‘Leeds International Festival Ideas’ (LIFI) event this October, to hear from a notable panel on all things ‘jobs’.

The event, titled ‘What no one told you about getting a job’, was part of the ‘LIFI Futures’ series, which gives young people opportunities to explore issues that matter to them.  

Students were lucky enough to hear from ‘Educating Yorkshire’ star, Musharaf Asghar, along with representatives from key regional employers, including Lloyds Banking Group, Morrisons, the NHS and Jet2. 

BBC broadcaster Rima Ahmed hosted the discussion at Leeds Playhouse- and was impressed by the strong student engagement and questions to the guest panel.

The festival, organised by Leeds BID, ran from 6-10 October, with guest appearances from Louis Theroux and Tim Minchin.

Career building: authenticity is key

The event panel discussed important factors around career-building and jobs, including authenticity, behaviours in the workplace and navigating AI in job applications.

Musharaf, who became famous following his stammering journey on Channel 4’s Educating Yorkshire, opened about his path to becoming a journalist and motivational speaker. He advised that there’s still time to forge a career beyond college age. He said: There’s a lot of pressure at a young age and we assume that it’s the be all and end all.”

Nad Ghani, Talent Lead at Morrisons responded to students’ concerns on building work experience, saying: “care is a huge quality that we look for. With a lot of employers, it’s about the behaviour you display and whether you have the ambition.”

Katie Rankin, Talent and Careers Lead at Jet2 agreed: “We want people who are passionate and resonate with our values. We can train skills but we’re looking for the right people to come in.”

Host, Rima Ahmed, said: “I really wanted this to be a conversation between some of the biggest recruiters in the country and the students for them to get a sense of what is going on in their world.

“I was blown away by these questions; I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before.”

Paige, a student from Leeds City College’s 14+ Academies programme who attended the event, spoke about her thoughts on the job market: “Ever since I started school, I’ve had trouble with learning and it really did help knowing that while I may not be top of the class, it’s good to know that just me as a person could be enough to get me through life.” 

Find out more about what’s happening at Leeds City College.