Future Leaders Scheme
20234 Winner : Neil Sontakke - Victoria College
2nd Place : Lacey Le Boutillier - Beaulieu Convent School
3rd Place : Yasmin Jenkins - Jersey College for Girls
The IoD Future Leaders Scheme is a work experience scheme sponsored by KPMG in the Crown Dependencies, which allows Year 12 Sixth Form students to spend one week ‘shadowing’ a Director or Senior Manager working across a number of sectors in the Island.
As a UK recognised scheme that can be used towards UCAS applications, gaining a place on the IoD Future Leaders Scheme is prestigious and therefore places are sought after. This is more than a normal work placement, this is a chance to get a first-hand insight into the role of a leader in an organisation.
Application
We want to make our application process easier therefore we ask students to submit their C.V. along with a cover letter/email as part of the initial application, informing us why the student wants to apply, what they can bring to the scheme and what sector they are interested in shadowing.
A shortlist of students will then be invited to attend an interview, where they will receive feedback on the interview itself and their C.V.; many students find this feedback invaluable as it may be the first time they have had to formally interview or submit an application for a position. Successful students will then be invited to be part of the scheme and paired up with an appropriate leader based on their indicated area of interest.
Timeline
The deadline for applications is Friday 10th January 2025 and we aim to send out invitations for interview during February, with interviews to be held during March.
Although we can’t arrange for students to shadow Richard Branson (we would love to have this chance ourselves!), there are plenty of local business leaders who readily take the opportunity of having students sit alongside them for five days – attending meetings and getting the inside track on what it takes to lead in any organisation.
The timing of the shadowing can be flexible, however we try to arrange it for a time either during Easter or summer holidays.
The Experience
We try to ensure we match students with a leader that fits in with their career aspirations. We have contacts from a range of areas including law, medicine, finance, politics, environment and digital. However, the main factor that we reinforce is that the student will get an opportunity to shadow a senior leader and can really get to see what happens at the top. Many of our leaders also serve as ongoing mentors to the students that shadow them.
At the end of the week, students are required to submit a 500-word report summarising their shadowing experience. The report will be marked by a panel consisting of IoD, KPMG and Careers reps, which is combined with the interview assessment mark, C.V. and video application to reach an overall winner who wins a prize.
This really is an invaluable opportunity for students to get first-hand insight into the role of a leader, to add great experience to their C.V. and to also build contacts that may assist them in their future career paths.
Apply
To apply for the 2024/2025 Future Leaders Scheme, please send your cover email/letter and CV to:
Hannah Samson
Students Sub-Committee Chair
