{"id":191843,"date":"2024-07-02T14:45:04","date_gmt":"2024-07-02T13:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/?p=191843"},"modified":"2024-07-02T14:45:55","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T13:45:55","slug":"fast-forward-vocational-training-ltds-race-upskill-youth-stem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/fast-forward-vocational-training-ltds-race-upskill-youth-stem","title":{"rendered":"Fast Forward Vocational Training Ltd\u2019s Race To Upskill Youth In STEM"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Founder Callum Thompson is offering alternative STEM-related education to disadvantaged young people across the UK, through the medium of go-karting.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The outlook is rosy for the UK’s science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) sectors \u2013 or so it seems. A 2022 report by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) found that those employed in STEM jobs numbered some 8.5 percent of the total workforce. Another 2022 study by job market information firm, Careersmart revealed a 2.79 percent estimated increase in STEM occupations employment between 2023 and 2024. All good news in theory, but widespread upskilling is crucial to avoid a STEM skills shortage. Hull-based Fast Forward Vocational Training Ltd is helping to bridge the impending skills gap while adding a splash of social uplift to the mix. Founder Callum Thompson sheds light on its founding story.<\/p>\n

It all started in 2013 when the twenty-two-year-old Thompson opened an indoor karting track in Hull. Initial interest came from an unlikely place, the neighbourhood police. \u201cThey asked if they could bring in some youths from one of the estates who were committing low-level antisocial behaviour crimes in the hope they could build relationships between the local officers and the young people through racing,\u201d he explains. Beyond a thrilling spin around the track, the new visitors became curious about how the go-karts worked, \u201cthey were keen to learn about the engines and we were happy to teach them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon after, one young person informed their school who then approached Thompson about using the service to help troubled students. Thanks to the power of referrals, the school became their first paying client, and Fast Forward Vocational Training was born. \u201cWe took six students on an unaccredited course in 2014 and have since grown that number to over 600 learners, with the next academic year set to take us to over 900 learners which will make us the farthest-reaching Alternative Training Provision in the UK,\u201d he beams.<\/p>\n

Securing the first client is always a big moment for a business, but scaling up successfully is what establishes a firm as a force to be reckoned with. For Thompson and his team, this came in 2017 via a partnership with TeamSport Indoor Karting, which is the UK\u2019s biggest indoor karting company with thirty-seven tracks across the country. \u201cWe now offer our training provision in all of these tracks,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat makes us unique is the blend of theoretical and practical learning we offer from the most exciting and well-equipped facilities possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the scale-up stage was challenging, Thompson explains it was \u201cnecessary\u201d as the market in Hull, while good, wasn\u2019t enough to ensure a sustainable business and to \u201ctruly make a lifelong difference to the number of students we wanted it to.\u201d The five-year plan is appropriately ambitious, namely to become \u201cthe market leader for alternative training in the UK,\u201d and to give \u201cthousands of young people\u201d a means \u201cto achieve success and help to create a better skilled and well-equipped next generation for this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Clearly, helping disadvantaged youths gain the knowledge and skills to enter the lucrative and fast growing STEM market is what makes Fast Forward Vocational Training a social as well as financially viable enterprise, however funding cuts are creating some humps on the horizon for Thompson and his team. \u201cSchools and academies that desperately need our support have had budgets cut and funding placements on our programmes is increasingly difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those who aren\u2019t in the loop about access to alternative forms of education among school-age children, Thompson points to figures published by the Department for Education last year, which showed that more than 50,000 secondary school students were \u201caccessing the majority of their education in alternative provision,\u201d which provides education for children who can\u2019t access mainstream schools, often due to exclusion. Thompson claims \u201cthis number is showing signs of further growth,\u201d yet UK schools aren\u2019t receiving \u201cextra funding to manage this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the obvious market challenges, Thompson has an exciting year ahead with nearly one thousand students due to enrol in the 2024-2025 academic year, with a range of STEM-related studies on offer from \u201cMotor Vehicle Studies\u201d and \u201cIntroduction to Motor Sport Engineering\u201d to \u201cProgression into a STEM Career.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to how he builds his internal workforce, Thompson\u2019s leadership style follows the founding ethos of his company by focusing \u201con putting together a team with agency over academic achievements.\u201d For this leader, while \u201ca nice CV is great,\u201d it\u2019s really about finding \u201cpeople who just get things done\u201d and \u201cespecially through periods of growth.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this final juncture, it seems appropriate to ask Thompson how he defines success at Fast Forward Vocational Training, and the answer is simple, yet powerful. \u201cWe measure success by the number of students who leave our programme in a better position than when they joined.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Founder Callum Thompson is offering alternative STEM-related education to disadvantaged young people across the UK, through the medium of go-karting. The outlook is rosy for the UK’s science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) sectors \u2013 or so it seems. A 2022 report by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) found that those employed in STEM […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":191846,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8890],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-technology"],"views":614,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realbusiness.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}