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The recent Netflix drama Adolescence was a cautionary tale about social media, misogynistic influences, and their impact on young men’s mental health. It also highlights the importance of parental engagement and open communication with teenagers. Each of the four episodes tells part of the story through a single shot ‘intimate’ format. From the police station to school, to a young offender’s institution, and the family home – it captured the anger and angst in each setting. None was an ‘easy watch’, but the school scene hit me the hardest.
Accurate reputations?
My kids have left full-time education and are well into their careers. So, I’m in a different place as a parent. But this subject still gives me much pause for reflection.
Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
And Tony Blair campaigned on a slogan of “Education, education, education” putting schools at the top of Labour’s agenda. How far removed were these ideals from the North of England school in Adolescence? I don’t know how accurate it was as a representation of schools, but I struggled to recognise what I saw and had equal empathy for both teachers and students. One group was grossly under-resourced and the other operated in a social media subculture that even after it was explained to me, I struggled to comprehend.
Continuing to pioneer
Both PeopleScout and TMP Worldwide operate in the early careers space. We build brands to attract good students and run assessment events to select the very best. After watching Adolescence I wonder how much raw talent we miss? How many of the post-Covid generation are now so disengaged from education and challenged by mental health concerns that university and a graduate scheme are so far from their current horizon as to make reaching out to connect with them almost impossible. At a time where US organisations, in response to the evolving political landscape and shifts in public opinion, are scaling back their emphasis on social justice-oriented hiring practices, I hope that the UK continues to pioneer in this space with organisations like The King’s Trust, The 10,000 Black Interns Programme and Lloyds Banking Group’s Social Mobility Foundation proudly leading.
Bold, brave and inclusive
The current Education Secretary, The Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson, at the recent Bett Show in January 2025, spoke of a “great new technological era to modernise our education system, back our teachers and deliver for our children”. I hope she’s right. We need our policymakers to be bold, to be brave and to be inclusive, if in the future the talent that passes through the graduate programmes of PeopleScout and TMP Worldwide is truly reflective of the country as a whole.
