Stormzy The Apprentice

Celebrity culture is a billion dollar business nowadays.?

Instagram, X and TikTok have created this web of deceit where influencers can share their perfect lifestyle, for their audience to aspire to at all costs.

It’s no surprise that when it comes to careers, most young people immediately think about what their idols do.

According to a study in 2022 by Deloitte, 49% of Gen Z want to be business owners. Microsoft found that at school, 22% of Gen Z had already created or were working on their side hustle.

Whilst it’s great to see the entrepreneurial spirit running wild, not every one of those ideas is going to be successful. The advice and guidance often given by those successful influencers can lead to disappointment that it can’t be replicated as easily as it’s made to be believed.?

That’s why it’s important to have role models in all types of careers to inspire thought across the board.?

I was reading about a recent Louis Theroux documentary recently. It surprised me to learn that Stormzy did an engineering apprenticeship!

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This is exactly the role model we want to see!?

He moved to Tipton for the role, and talks about experiencing lots of different cultures from around the UK and growing himself a huge amount. This is where he learnt to not take himself too seriously.?

His music took off so he had no need for the apprenticeship, but not everyone becomes a major Grime Artist.

Despite growing numbers of black students in undergraduate STEM studies, there are many barriers accessing STEM careers.?

For example, black students are more likely to drop out of STEM education at all points when compared to their white & asian peers.

One of the reasons for this is a severe lack of role models and representation.?

Hopefully the story of Stormzy is more widely shared to inspire more students to follow similar careers!?

Thanks Fiona M. for putting me onto this!