Become a volunteerOn Saturday 20 May 2023, Girlguiding Midlands held a virtual careers event, showcasing various professions and careers through four 45-minute online sessions. Within these sessions, the professionals gave a personal insight into their career, past and present, and their journey to reach this point, with many opportunities throughout to ask questions for those of an inquisitive nature. Girlguiding volunteers were also on hand to provide technical support and ensure the smooth running of each session. Talks were from a scientist, police officer, engineer, dog groomer, nurse, social worker, HR team leader, event manager, management consultant, fire fighter, learning disability nurse, lawyer, abroad worker, construction planner, aerospace engineer, accountant, clinical psychologist, procurement in the cabinet office, teacher, business administrator, speech therapist, health and wellbeing team leader, healthcare project manager, construction consultant, stage manager, met office senior scientist, pharmacist, paramedic, occupational therapist, geologist, publisher, writer, electrical engineer, embroidery, registrar, charity worker, mathematician and banker.
I attended two sessions: event management and stage management. The event management session was hosted by Helen Peden and Rebekah Ford, the co-founders of The Event Foundry, an independently owned event management company, who organise and host a variety of events including award dinners, industry exhibitions, festivals and product launches. I found this session very enlightening as I learnt about how they have both taken similar paths working as employees for other established companies that host various events like Derby’s Roundhouse, showing how they have not directly taken the traditional route and worked at various levels to gain the industry knowledge and are now able to utilise this within their own business, working with high profile clients. The stage management session was hosted by Amy Wildgoose, a freelance theatre and live events stage manager. Within her talk, she discussed how the team works collaboratively to coordinate all aspects to ensure that the production runs smoothly and on time, which varies depending upon each event. Her recent work included being deputy stage manager for a play touring Europe, teaching stage management at a drama school in the United Arab Emirates, show calling a musical in Qatar and being a senior stage manager for an immersive, site specific and live broadcast performance in North Wales. Similarly, I was enlightened by this as she gave a detailed insight into the stage management role and the secrets behind how certain aspects of musical theatre are created which for me as a huge musical theatre fan was greatly fascinating and I could relate closely to this as I knew the synopsis.
Overall, I was really impressed with this opportunity to hear from a variety of experts with varying experience to inspire the next generation, providing us with live experiences and guidance showing the various routes into each field which is not always the traditional academic one. This event was also very inspiring by all guests being female, showing how women are making a positive change within the working landscape. I would highly recommend this event and encourage all to take the opportunity when it arrives as it has given me a clear insight into two roles that could be options within my current studies.
