With the countdown to Insp-Hire ticking, Gordon Brown tells us why he think the event is a must-see for both parents and their children.
It's the 64 Million Dollar question as a kid - what do you want to be when you grow up?
When I was in primary school I wanted to be a footballer, and when I was in year 5 in secondary school my career adviser said my profile and personality was matched to a Police officer, Zoologist or Hotel Manager. I’m now entering into my 20th year in recruitment and own a small niche technical recruitment company in Glasgow.
If I look at my 7-year-old girl Ruby and ask the same questions, she can often change her mind based on her major influences! Family, TV, friends and more importantly social media, whether we like it or not or kids are more impressionable than ever.
Here’s her top answers to date:
-
“I want to make a difference” (Primary 1, butter wouldn’t melt)
-
Doctor (after she had tonsillitis combined with a Doc McStuffin obsession in Primary 2)
-
Hairdresser (after getting her new haircut before holiday in Primary 2)
-
Air Hostess (after the same holiday on the way home)
-
Dentist (getting her first cavity post-holiday in Primary 2)
However, in the last 4 weeks (and now in Primary 3) she's changed and her focus is on YouTube, toy reviews and creating her own channel. There's a fascination around being famous and getting followers, so there's clearly been a shift in influencers and she is more susceptible to social media. As a parent, I need to control and police the content and amount of time spent accessing this, but I also truly believe I need to embrace the change and understand the future potential this shift will have on my daughter.
Industry 4.0 is upon us, and the modern-day industrial revolution is fast approaching. Having worked in the technology recruitment sector in the last 20 years, the pace and change and innovation is both hugely exciting and a little frightening! AI and automated technology are here and already changing our lives.
I'm so excited to be working with my partner Karen Stewart to bring our Insp-Hire event to Glasgow, educating young people and the future workforce about the new technological era. As Karen herself says;
"We know we can genuinely make a difference in this field - we have the drive, the know-how and the network to really build a model that can inspire young people to work in the manufacturing, technology, engineering and digital industries. We've seen that technology is moving at such a pace that education is now lagging behind, and we want to educate and inspire families to look at the future job market and what the required skills will look like in this new era."
You can find out more about our fantastic event here.