Future CEO - Your future pathway

New research from City & Guilds suggests that the odds are being stacked against young people’s futures and career aspirations – particularly the most disadvantaged wrote Workplace Insight.

According to the report’s authors, the findings indicate that many young people feel totally excluded from the labour market. They say that young people seem to be rapidly losing hope as they face what they see as a hostile labour market with limited opportunities to get a foot on the ladder and progress.

Yet we look at our industry, with a huge variety of business, fueled by people, all with customers, all of who cannot hire, or, are struggling to hire across customer service, customer contact, customer success, customer insight, customer experience, customer operations.

And it isn't just the young. Recent years have seen more over fifties leave the workplace than ever before, ONS data showed that three in five over-50s have left the workforce sooner than planned?since the pandemic started. Almost a fifth of workers aged 50-59 said they quit their jobs because of mental health concerns, while about a sixth said they wanted a change in lifestyle.

Again, we look at our industry and the customer, contact and experience industry, there are a wealth of opportunities available which may be able to offer support and more flexible working, night shifts, homeworking, part-time careers etc for these individuals.

Let's face it, the usual perception that surrounds customer, contact and experience opportunities is not great and the industry is very rarely considered as a real career choice, or, an vehicle to help individuals work towards their longer term dreams and goals. There are a number of misconceptions of the industry, but those of us who work in it, or support it, know the reality is very different. The environment offers you all the skills you need to create your own career pathway and open up opportunities into almost every sector and function, including helping you to be your own future CEO.

Ten years ago I wrote an article Contact Centres, The Future Leaders Training Ground , today and with the help of some additional contributors; Mark Billingham (he/him) - Managing Director, Telco, Media & Technology, Capita Plc, Andrea Gray - Managing Director, PPL PRS, Alex Mead - Chief Customer Service Experience Officer, Ian Parry - CEO/Founder - Future Leaders Mentoring, Kiran Uppal - Senior Digital Care Programme Manager, Global Online Retail, Jamie Thorpe - Head of Experience Management, Ipsos MORI CX, Russell Hutchison - Business Programme Manager, Yorkshire Water, Martin Teasdale - Founder - Get Out of Wrap Podcast, Vikki Williams - Customer Experience Officer, Banking, Jason Roberts - Director, Appropriate Consulting, Sarah Garton - Managing Director, Accenture, we have once again been able to showcase the diversity, flexibility, training, skills, development and opportunity available to everyone who wants it that our industry offers.

This content has been developed as free to use for all and we ask and welcome you to share far and wide. With local schools, councils, your recruitment, leadership and talent teams. Let's showcase the opportunities available and attract more talented individuals to our industry.

Even Steven Bartlett, co-founder of Social Chain and the youngest judge to feature on the BBC One 'show Dragon;s Den in an interview for the BBC 'CEO Secrets' said.

"Call centre work trained me to be a CEO." Steven Bartlett

Continue reading and please feel free to use this report and video content to help your talent acquisition strategies, if you need help downloading or branding please do let us know.?

Continue Reading here.

Learn more from our interviews with each of the aforementioned and hear directly from them in this video.

If you would like to share your story do let me know.