Computing, cars and contemporary art - creating opportunities for young people in the workplace

Computing, cars and contemporary art - creating opportunities for young people in the workplace Aimee Dale Barton

How Axisweb is helping new entrants to the workforce


Not since the 1980s has it been so difficult for young people to find work. Getting that first, vital toe-hold in the workplace is a challenge. It’s the old story: you can’t gain experience without experience; and without experience, you can’t gain experience.

Anyone who has ever been unemployed will know what a devastating effect it has on self-esteem and motivation, for work is integral to our sense of who we are. Contrary to the lazy rhetoric of tabloid newspapers and government about ‘workers’ and ‘shirkers’, the great majority of unemployed people are keen to find work and contribute to society.

But at a time when organisations are struggling for survival, there’s a strong temptation to focus on internal need and become less open to the possibility of resourcing work experience and training for new entrants to the workforce.

Yet surely we must all take some responsibility for the future workforce, even during a period of economic austerity – indeed perhaps above all when times are hard. Our own recent experience of bringing younger people into the workplace has been entirely positive. In the past year we’ve participated in the government’s apprenticeship programme by supporting Aimee Dale Barton to achieve qualifications in business and administration.

Aimee came to us straight from school, full of enthusiasm and eager to learn. In a short time she has taken on some tricky tasks and significant responsibilities, from helping with our stand at the London Art Fair to writing the minutes of meetings and supporting some of our more technologically challenged members (there are a few) with updating their directory profiles. To our delight, she has just been offered a job with D. M.Keith Ltd – a great opportunity and well deserved reward for all her effort. Among other things, we’ll miss her daring dress sense (she has certainly upped the glamour stakes in our sartorially low-key office) and sense of humour.

Earlier this summer we also hosted Rafal Chmiel, a student at Horsforth School in Leeds, on GCSE work placement. Rafal completely disarmed us by announcing in his introductory email that he liked writing ‘eloquent code’ for the web. Faced with such a confident and well-expressed assertion, how could we say no?

He was more than equal to the various tasks we set him, most of which involved researching new developments for our web platform and digital services. His knowledge of all things digital was breathtaking. Even more impressive was his ability to communicate information and insights with authority – a rare attribute indeed in somebody so young.

Rafal intends to pursue a career in computing, which he will do doubt do with great success. Meanwhile, Aimee is now a ‘Fleet Administrator’ with a well-known car dealership in Leeds. How cool is that? And, who knows, maybe contemporary art and cars have more in common than we thought.


Contributed by Sheila McGregor
Sheila is the Director of Axisweb.

Sheila McGregor's staff profile on Axisweb