BP helps to ‘future proof’ students’ skills

BP has launched the Skills Refinery, an online global portal developed to help improve student employability. In addition, a global challenge will be instituted in which the inaugural winning team will win a trip to the 2019 One Young World Summit in London.

BP, an energy provider and leading graduate recruiter, developed the platform using the latest digital technologies. The online gamified portal contains resources students can use to enhance their professional skills, whilst also having fun.

The Skills Refinery allows undergraduate students to test and develop abilities in five core areas – critical thinking; problem solving; innovation; influence and communication; and cognitive flexibility and emotional intelligence. Students can take interactive quizzes, track their progress, and learn how the core areas are relevant to the professional world.

A popular estimate predicts that 65% of children entering primary school today will end up working in jobs that do not yet exist. The goal of the Skills Refinery is to ensure that students are well-equipped with skills they may need in an ever-changing world.

To add excitement and a sense of competition, BP will launch an annual global challenge in December. Students and members of the Skills Refinery will be asked to team up and create video submissions to compete at a national level. Winners will go on to compete at a global level.

The overall winners will win an exclusive, all-expense paid trip to the One Young World Summit, next year for the event’s 10^th anniversary in London. The summit is an opportunity for talented young minds, joined by world leaders, to devise and share solutions to pressing world issues.

Julia Harvie-Liddel, group head of resourcing at BP, said: “At BP we recognise that the world is changing fast. Technology and digitisation are transforming the workplace and the nature of work is quickly evolving.

“We believe we can play a critical role in helping students ‘future proof’ their skills and better equip them to be successful in an ever-changing world. We don’t know what the jobs of the future will be, but we can give students the skills to prepare for them. We hope the Skills Refinery will enable them to do just that.”

In its first year the Skills Refinery will be available to five regions – Australia, Azerbaijan, Singapore, the UK, and the US. A full global launch is scheduled for 2019. The refinery is free to join, and open to first- and second-year undergraduates.

Interested parties can join the Skills Refinery by visiting the website.