Careers mentoring app goes national

It connects school leavers with a network of careers contacts.

A careers mentoring app which was piloted by a Sheffield school has been rolled out to 70,000 women nationally in a bid to encourage pupils to interact with and quiz like-minded professionals.

Sheffield High School for Girls was selected last year by the Girls’ Day School Trust to trial the Rungway digital mentoring app, which helps sixth formers connect with a network of contacts for careers advice.

The trial was so successful the platform is now being rolled out to 24 other schools and academies.

Year 13 pupil Agatha Stephenson Meech, who is interested in a midwifery career, made contact with former Sheffield High School for Girls pupil, Becky Weston through Rungway. She was able to offer her first-hand advice on becoming a health professional.

“I registered with the Rungway app and posted a question asking for advice on how to get into midwifery,” Agatha told The Star newspaper.

“Rungway has opened up new ways for us to ask for careers advice and get help from people in the workplace. I asked a question and people shared their experiences with me."

“Sheffield Girls' alumna Becky Weston, who is now a midwife and community team leader in Sheffield, responded to my question and we got chatting on the app.

“We met up in school, and Becky also invited a colleague who is a lecturer on the midwifery course at Sheffield Hallam University, and we discussed the positives and challenges of a midwifery career and she also gave me lots of tips for my application and the interview process.

“I was offered four interviews at different universities and so am currently preparing for those as they all take place in the next few weeks. The confidence I gained, by having easy access to support from alumnae who were once in their exact same position, was unparalleled.

“Rungway has opened up new ways for us to ask for careers advice and get help from people in the workplace. I asked a question and people shared their experiences with me.

“It was really easy to use, and there was no need to feel nervous about asking a question.”

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