TWO Bromsgrove business leaders have joined forces to offer their expertise to local schools’ career programmes.

Dan Corcoran, director at Reedmace Solutions, and James Godsall, managing director at Jukes Insurance, have been giving careers advice and interview training to pupils at Bromsgrove schools.

Dan recently supported Bromsgrove School’s Vision2020 careers event, giving year 7 and 8 pupils the opportunity to learn about future career opportunities directly from business people.

They were able to find out about the different educational and training routes that can be taken into a variety of professions, as well as asking questions about different job roles and industries.

Dan commented: “As a business owner and father, I feel a great responsibility to help younger generations understand the future world of work and all the career options available to them.

"Working with leading-edge tech start-ups, I see firsthand how quickly technology has progressed and how it will continue to develop exponentially.

"It is part of my ongoing mission to help bridge the gap between education and employment by building awareness of the increase in future jobs in fields such as Data Science, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and robotics.”

A few days later, Dan and James teamed up with the council’s 'Inspiring Worcestershire' team and North Bromsgrove High School to provide mock interview sessions for around 140 students, helping to instil the mindset, knowledge and confidence they will need to be successful at future job interviews.

James added: “It was great to go back to my old school and share a little of the experience I’ve picked up working within HR for 15 years prior to my move to Jukes Insurance.

"The pupils were really engaged and hopefully took away some tips they can put into practice."

Claire Bishop, assistant headteacher at North Bromsgrove High School, said: “Dan and James’s enthusiasm made the interview training both enjoyable and valuable for our students and opened up some great conversations.

"The real-life examples and scenarios they offered gave a good idea of what they can expect from interviews and how they can properly prepare. It was a really valuable experience.”

Dan added: “Both the Vision2020 event and the interview training at North Bromsgrove High School allowed us to meet some exceptional and enthusiastic young people.

"We hope it’s encouraged them to have the curiosity and confidence to aim high in life and explore a variety of interests, routes and options, both in their education and also their future careers.”