Emergent Thinkers™

Last week I spent two days at Queen Elizabeth High School in Carmarthen, invited to take part in their county-wide careers event ‘Next Steps to Future Success and What Next? An Exploration of the World of Work’, as a Big Ideas Wales role model. It was slightly different from the kinds of sessions I am often involved in, not a workshop or a talk, but a stand-based, open conversation space shared with dozens of other organisations, employers, and support bodies from across Carmarthenshire. I was there representing Emergent Thinkers, and clearly present in my role as a Big Ideas Wales role model. Part of my purpose was to help make visible the support available to young people but just as importantly, role model through my own work and lived experience working with schools and businesses. That meant sharing how entrepreneurial mindsets, value creation, and ways of thinking are developed and carried across different contexts, rather than spoken about only in abstract terms.

Over the two days, hundreds of Year 10-13 pupils from a breadth of schools across the county came through in steady waves. They arrived curious and thoughtful, sometimes tentative, sometimes brimming with ideas. Being present with them in this way allowed ideas to unfold naturally, not as advice-giving, but as a shared exploration of what possibility can look like when it grows from their passions, interests, and experiences as they are living them now. Some arrived already carrying the seeds of business ideas, small enterprises imagined alongside school, or longer-term hopes of self-employment. Others were very clear that they did not yet know what subjects they might want to pursue at college or university, or what kinds of jobs might suit them in the future. For some, that uncertainty felt unsettling, as though not having a clear destination meant being somehow behind. We talked about the idea that it is not necessary, at fifteen or sixteen, to know exactly where you are heading. Instead, the focus can be on building strong foundations now. Developing core entrepreneurial skills and dispositions such as self-awareness, curiosity, confidence, collaboration, problem-solving, and the ability to recognise value in your own experiences. These are capabilities that travel well. They do not lock you into a single pathway, but keep options open.

We explored how experiences young people already have, in school, outside school, in part-time work, hobbies, caring roles, or creative interests, all contribute to an emerging understanding of what they are good at and what matters to them. When passions or opportunities do become clearer later on, those foundations allow young people to step into them with greater confidence and readiness. Several pupils visibly relaxed as this was named, reassured that uncertainty now does not mean limitation later. If nothing else, that sense of permission felt like a gift worth offering.

Alongside these pupil conversations, the wider room mattered too. Sharing space with Careers Wales, training providers, employers, and third-sector organisations created a rich ecology of perspectives. Informal conversations between stallholders surfaced shared values and overlapping concerns, particularly around how we support young people to recognise their own capabilities and see value beyond narrow definitions of success.

It was also a genuine pleasure to spend time with the effervescent Rev. Kirstie Griffiths. Meeting her in this setting felt like one of those unexpected gifts that events like this sometimes offer. Her warmth, energy, and openness brought an extra lightness to the room, and our conversations carried that rare mix of humour, depth, and shared care for young people and their futures. It was genuinely lovely to meet her and to exchange thoughts in such an affirming, generous spirit.

There was a real energy across the school’s rooms, spilling out into the outdoor spaces over both days. The hustle and bustle, the constant chatter, live music threading through the corridors, the smell of home-cooked food drifting from the food court, and exhibitions dotted with interactive pieces all combined to create a sense of shared job. A sense of people coming together not to sell futures, but to open them. Staff from Queen Elizabeth High School, especially organiser, Lydia Rhys, and visiting schools held the space with generosity and purpose, and it was clear how much thought had gone into creating an event that felt welcoming rather than overwhelming.

I left feeling so happy, so hopeful. Events like this matter not because they provide answers, but because they help young people trust that they are already building something of value, even when the path ahead is not yet fully visible.

https://careerswales.gov.wales/education-and-teaching-professionals/big-ideas-wales