Head Joins Panel Discussion on Future Workplace for Young People

Panel title: Equipping learners for a compassionate and sustainable future 

On Thursday 27 January, Mrs Lunnon spoke on a Zoom panel discussion on the future of the workforce as part of the #LearningPlanet Festival 2022. The panel examined the changing world of work and how the skills that young people will need in the workforce are evolving.

The panel, hosted by the UK’s leading global learning platform Global Dimension, answered questions about what skills young people want to see prioritised and what role industry and education can play as we all come together to build a more equal, compassionate and sustainable future. In essence, Mrs Lunnon asked, “how can we, as educators, equip young people for the future workplace? We need to think about who we want our young people to be. That starts with values and interdisciplinary learning”.

The VP of Global Learning and Future Work at Unilever, Paddy Hull, stated that the 21st Century is the century of entrepreneurialism because of opportunity and necessity; opportunities that have been created through technological advances and necessity because of the global issues we face now with climate change and the growth of the green economy.

In this case, Yumna Hussen, Youth MP and campaigner was asked, what do young people want to see prioritised in their education? She responded that the education system needed to be more adaptive; less how the child needs to fit into the school and more how the school can meet the child’s needs. She added that the skills we need to give our young people are those of problem solving, critical thinking and interdisciplinary learning to be able to make the links between subjects to tackle issues of a complex world.

As topics close to Mrs Lunnon’s heart, interdisciplinarity and cross-disciplinarity are crucial in preparing young people. However, she cautioned, standards must be maintained in individual subjects in order to have an effective interdisciplinary approach. “We cannot bring subjects together without a grounding in the individual subjects”, she said. “Also importantly, we must find ways we can connect subjects as creatively, organically and fluidly as possible.”

She spoke about the steps Alleyn’s has taken in its curriculum to address this new paradigm of learning, namely the Alleyn’s Learner Project which requires pupils to bring together skills of problem-solving, creative thinking and working together to find solutions to real problems.

Mrs Lunnon spoke passionately about how PSCHE needs to ensure that sustainability and climate are core topics within its curriculum and not just in the margins. As we learn about keeping ourselves healthy, “we need to say how we keep the planet healthy”.

She concluded, “Every job in the future will be a green job and there is not a child who won’t be going out into some sort of role or potentially many roles in which they won’t have to think about the climate and how to solve the problems we have created.... we have to find a way to prepare them”.

All agreed that in education, we need creative thought, to empower our children and above all, to develop compassion and open communication with each other.

We will upload the full discussion when available, here. To learn more about the speakers, read on:

Yumna Hussen, Youth MP for Birmingham

Yumna is a multi-faceted change agent, campaigner across interconnected systems, co-author of Struggles of War, TEDx speaker, and recent Diana Award 2021 recipient. She is also the Youth MP for Birmingham and part of BiteBack 2030's Youth Board in Birmingham, which is a youth-led movement, redesigning the food system to put children's health first. An avid freelance writer, co-author of the book 'Struggles Of War' and public speaker, she believes in using creative approaches to tackle societal issues, often using the power of story-telling and spoken-word in her own work.

Jalidah Nabukalu, Restless Development Youth Researcher, Uganda

A graduate of Makerere University School of Public Health with a bachelors of Environmental Health Sciences, Jalidah possesses great passion in health promotion through research and leadership. Her love for research has led her to work in the field since the time she was in school. She believes in working hard to achieve life goals and also in teamwork for effectiveness of project goals.

Paddy Hull, VP Global Learning and Future Work, Unilever

Paddy Hull is Unilever’s VP Global Learning & Future of Work, responsible for bringing Unilever’s social commitments on the Future of Work to life. He describes his job as helping people stay fit for work – now and in the future. Paddy first joined Unilever in1996 as a Management Trainee in Finance, before running his own business. He returned to Unilever in 2008, taking on various roles in Change Management leadership, Leadership Development, Global Learning and Global HR Strategy. Outside of work, he enjoys running marathons, telling jokes and dancing (to the embarrassment of his kids!).

Paul Ellingstad, Social Innovation Director, Pearson

A technology sector veteran with over two decades experience at iconic brands and industry leaders Gateway, Compaq and HP. Paul was one of the principal architects for HP’s transformation to a social innovation model in 2009. He developed award winning partnerships and programs with social sector leaders such as the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Partners in Health, Global Health Corps, and UNICEF. A passionate advocate for youth development and leadership, he provides both formal and informal mentoring to youth leaders and the entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs.

Host: Holly Everett, Programme Manager, Reboot the Future

Holly is a qualified secondary school teacher. After moving into the non-profit sector, she worked as Head of Education for a youth charity, where she created an education programme addressing issues from bullying to digital literacy and mental wellbeing, with partners including Simple skincare and Tumblr. Holly is passionate about mental wellbeing, the arts, and the power of story-telling.

The #LearningPlanet launched in 2020 by CRI (now Learning Planet Institute) and UNESCO, is a global community of pioneers co-creating new ways of learning, teaching, researching, and mobilising collective intelligence. The festival concludes on 29 January.