Thursday, 9 May 2019
As employers complain about the lack of work readiness amongst young people entering the workplace, we look at ways in which employability skills can be developed through work experience, work shadowing and volunteering.
Work ready – what does it mean? Employability skills – what are these? You won’t find these terms on the core curriculum, so is it any wonder many young people are entering the workplace holding a piece of paper with a list of grades and not much more?
Government guidelines regarding work experience have changed over the years and many schools have stopped including work experience in KS3 due to financial constraints, which leaves young people in a difficult position. How can they be ‘work ready’ if they have little or no experience in the workplace?
The new Government guidelines called, The Gatsby Benchmarks, state the following:
Raising awareness of what employability skills are key to helping young people develop them. So what are these skills? Communication, Teamwork, Problem Solving, Creativity, Resilience, are just some of the skills and in reality, pupils are developing these on a daily basis, they just don’t know it!
If teachers start to include these characteristics within their lessons this becomes a brilliant starting point. For example, problem solving and resilience in Maths. A pupil can’t solve an equation, but eventually works out a strategy to get the right answer.
What we need to do as teachers are to make them aware of the skills they have just used. Not only does it raise awareness but it also builds confidence. And the good thing is, this doesn’t require planning, it just requires a simple addition to a plenary – ‘what skills have I demonstrated today’.
Listed below are some excellent websites to help you in your classrooms:
About our Community Expert
Jo Lane
Head of Careers at The Windsor Boys' School
Over 8 years of experience in educational settings including FE colleges and secondary schools. Prior to entering education she worked at the Financial Times in a sales and marketing role before deciding to embark on a career change.
Teaching business whilst completing her part-time PGCE at Greenwich University, she transferred her business skills into the classroom and these skills resulted in her providing students with a range of vocational learning experiences linked to the curriculum, including setting up businesses and creating a youth music festival for local performers.
Building on her experience of working in The City, she has established excellent links with local and national employers who provide valuable career opportunities for her pupils, including work experience, employability sessions and apprenticeships. She is motivated to provide pupils or all abilities with the opportunity to be successful in school and helping them secure the right path for their future career.
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