North Herts College students named winners of the Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal ‘HOP into TikTok’ competition, which saw young people across the county unleash their creativity to produce videos to spread the word about HOP.

In October 2022, young people in Year 12 (or equivalent) from secondary schools and colleges across Hertfordshire were challenged to produce the most creative, engaging and original TikTok video to promote Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal (HOP) to their peers. Competition entries were received from five schools and colleges and showcased on HOP’s TikTok channel, attracting over 3,100 views and 200 likes.

HOP (www.hopinto.co.uk) is the #1 website for Hertfordshire residents seeking careers advice, sector information and local jobs, apprenticeships and courses. HOP was launched in 2019 by Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) with the aim of connecting local people to local opportunities, in line with objectives of the Hertfordshire Skills and Employment Strategy to 2024.

Every young person deserves the best possible start to their working life, to be inspired and prepared to choose their path, fulfil their potential and contribute to a thriving economy. HOP aims to ensure there are clear and easy routes to access national and local programmes and provides the tools needed to support young people into a career they love.

Caroline Cartwright, Head of Skills and Apprenticeships at Hertfordshire LEP, said: “HOP usage has increased significantly over the last few years and we know our schools and colleges use it as a trusted resource to support their students to explore career opportunities in Hertfordshire. Through this competition, we were keen to broaden our reach with young people, knowing videos and social media are a key source of information for them."

Three outstanding entries, submitted by students from North Herts College and Elstree Screen Arts Academy, were shortlisted for their creativity, originality and social media performance. Watch the entries below.

The winning video, submitted by Early Years students Keira Anker, Ella Ansell, Mia Beresford, Lilia Carter, Grace Dear, Amy French, Eve Jones, Katie Parker and Natalie Randall from North Hertfordshire College:

A shortlisted entry from Sammy Kraft, Charlie Couldridge, Ciara Smith and Jake Ryan from Elstree Screen Arts Academy:

A shortlisted entry from Ryan West from Elstree Screen Arts Academy:

Caroline said: “We are delighted with the high standard of entries, and the creativity and skill that has gone into producing these videos. Congratulations to our winner and finalists - we will now use this creativity as a catalyst to fully launch our HOP TikTok channel. The competition has provided us with lots of ideas!”

The team from North Hertfordshire College have secured a £100 prize and £1,500 for their sixth form with their winning submission.

From the winning team, students Amy and Grace said: “We worked as a team of nine to design our TikTok video. After researching the HOP website we gathered our ideas on a white board so we had a structure for producing our video. We collected props from around North Herts College to represent as many sectors as possible. The team were assigned roles based on skills such as video editing. We ensured we kept to the brief and ended up shortening our video to ensure we were within 15 seconds. We also know music is important and the song we used was catchy and relevant.

“HOP is a great site to explore local job opportunities, learn about careers and connect with local employers. We are studying Early Years and we qualify this year so we took time to explore the HOP Early Years profile and looked at job roles and current vacancies local to us. It is a great resource.”

Vickie Sharp, Level 2 and Level 3 Course Team Lead at North Hertfordshire College, said: “Students were offered the chance to enter this competition and being avid TikTok users they were keen to submit a video. I gave them the printed brief from HOP and the link to the HOP website, the rest was down to them.

“I’m really proud of how well they digested the brief and were able to meet the requirements, how creative and resourceful they were but also how much fun they had making their TikTok. This competition has not only allowed them to embed their digital skills but has introduced them to a support platform I am sure they will use for a long time to come!”

More about HOP

In addition to supporting career explorers, the free-to-use platform also offers employers and training providers a gateway to local talent, and provides educators with a vast bank of classroom resources, from labour market infographics to sector-focused ‘virtual employer encounter’ webinars, as well a popular series of in-person ‘Generation’ careers fairs which shine the spotlight on local opportunities.

Explore HOP