How to get a second chance at making a first impression

Leaders, educators and people specialists from the Liverpool City Region attended a unique event designed and facilitated by Liverpool Business School last month.

City leaders gathered as a result of a ground-breaking initiative between academia and industry, as Liverpool Business School and Agent Academy created the first-of-its-kind Post-Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Digital Marketing.

To celebrate the end of the 12-week programme - offered to recent graduates who were unemployed or in low level part time jobs – students shared their thoughts on the success of this pioneering programme, what they’ve learnt and what needs to happen next to revolutionise how we develop Liverpool Business School in the future. 

How can we lead the way?

Hosted by programme students Joe Jackson and Sumaya Bazara, the fully interactive event started with a presentation from Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotherham, who talked about developing industrial and digital technologies in the city region to go hand-in-hand to place Liverpool on the global platform.

Live voting app

Audience participation came via a live voting app tool that the audience registered to on arrival and the room got to vote for the topic (choice of three) that they wanted each speaker to talk about. Digitisation has radically challenged education systems around the world and the event focused on finding new ways of developing a skilled workforce, ready to take on the opportunities that Industry 4.0 brings.

“My degree made me realise that sport is more of a hobby than a career… “

Student Becky Carpenter has landed herself a job since finishing the programme. She told the audience: “I studied Sport Science, but my degree made me realise that sport is more of a hobby than a career. Since graduating last summer, my family have started up a business and I thought it would be a good idea to get on-board… but I was worried about my lack of experience and knowledge. I needed a course to give me some background knowledge and direction – so Agent Academy and the LJMU Post-Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Digital Marketing came along just at the right time for me! 

“I applied and moved back to this great city immediately. I hoped the course would help me gain a basic foundation of knowledge within digital marketing and that I could learn from business leaders – but the course exceeded all my expectations. I found myself creating connections with lots of inspirational people and never looked back. I’ve landed a job as a community associate at city-based Avenue HQ and the role is allowing me to grow and learn within a variety of areas, including events, PR, community and public engagement.

“The post-grad certificate and my time with Agent Academy have given me the skills and confidence to put myself out there within an industry completely new to me… I can’t recommend the course highly enough!”

“I have built such an amazing network and made lifelong friends… “

Student Faye Lucas says she found herself during the course and working at Agent Academy. She told the event: “I studied Criminology and Sociology at Undergraduate. I see myself as a confident person, but I can honestly say that it wasn’t for me. However, within a week of starting the post-grad course, I could feel my confidence growing. It was around week three or four when I truly felt I had made the best decision by applying and I started to push myself every day to make the most of my opportunity. It paid off. At first I thought there was no way I could learn a new subject in just 12 weeks, but the positivity offered from LJMU and Agent Academy gave me everything I needed to take this chance and run with it.

“I’m now working as a campaign executive at Agent Marketing, within the digital and creative sector that I’ve grown to love, and I know it’s an unreal opportunity. I’m working with some of the most talented people in the industry and have made lifelong friends – all thanks to Liverpool Business School and Agent Academy!"

Speaker Paul Corcoran, managing director of collaborators Agent, kept the room entertained for the rest of the lively event. Talking about how his visions for Agent Academy started, he expanded on developing values-led, socially aware young leaders who will go on to make a positive impact in their places of work and in society.

With a range of full and part time courses available, Liverpool Business School provides the perfect platform for you to progress your career. Realise your business potential by gaining the skills and qualifications you need to take you to the next level.