Over 100 local young people attended the first ever Pop-Up Talent Shop in Wandsworth, where local charities and businesses ran interactive taster sessions to allow 16-to-25 year olds to explore their possible options into employment, education and training across a range of industries.
The event was organized by the the Foyer Federation in collaboration with Dan Watkins, local businessman and Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Tooting. Working together they were able to deliver the innovative Pop-Up Talent vision at the Mushkil Aasaan community center on Tooting High Street.
Interactive sessions were run by local businesses in areas including catering, social media, DJing, urban art, music production and lighting, while local charities ran stalls promoting apprenticeships, entrepreneurism and other skill-building courses.
Speaking at the event, Dan Watkins said:
‘I’m very pleased that Foyer Federation accepted my invitation to come to Tooting and run this event – it must be the most interactive Jobs Fair that Wandsworth has ever seen! And it’s great news that 50 of our local young people signed-up on the day for ongoing training programmes. This will be a great pathway into future employment for them, so thanks is due to the Pop-Up shop and many volunteers who helped run it today.
Leigham Strachan, Project Manager for the Tooting Pop-Up Shop, commented:
“Pop-Up Talent Shops are an innovative idea that are inspiring young people around the country. We’re delighted that the event popped-up in Tooting and had such success. We have no doubt it will help the young people who attended explore their talents and leave them with a better understanding of what they want to do in the future.”