Ambassador Case Study May 10

May 2010 - Enhancing Employability Skills - Shetland

 

Skills Development Scotland in conjunction with local employers and STEM Ambassadors provided interactive workshops for S2 pupils on Skills for Work and for S4 school leavers.  The focus of the different workshops was on identifying and developing the employability skills required to move successfully into further learning, training or employment after leaving school.
 
S4 Employability Workshops:
Ambassadors: Karen Hall, Johan Adamson, Elaina Leach, Saro Saravanan, Silke Reeploeg.
Shetland has a number of information based careers events for example, the Careers Convention and the Local Opportunities Event which help pupils make decisions about their future career choices.   However the new 16+ Learning Choices agenda  brings a more collaborative approach to supporting young people into positive and sustained destinations.
 
The employability skills workshops provided students with a real time experience enabling them to engage in 5 carousel workshops.  Pupils attended workshops covering:
  • The Write Stuff  - completing application forms and writing letters
  • Now you’re in – how do you make sure you keep your job/ apprenticeship/ college place
  • Barriers and Resilience - barriers to positive destinations and what you can do to break down your own personal barriers
  • First Impressions Count - preparing for Interviews
  • Interviews Take One - having a go at a real interview
 
The morning session saw pupils taking part in a mock interview with STEM Ambassadors and representatives from businesses who have experience of interviewing and working with young people.   Pupils took the interviews very seriously and were given immediate feedback on what they did well and what they could do differently; interviewers also gave pupils written feedback which they were able to take away.  Interviewers commented on how well the pupils did in the interview situation and wished them all the best for the future.  Pupils also found the experience very helpful and felt that the workshops were just what they needed.
 
Senior Careers Adviser Julie Mackay, led the morning and was delighted with the result. “Students respond really positively to this style of workshop which has an immediate impact on what they are going to do next”.
 
The SDS team would like to thank all the STEM Ambassadors and representatives from local business for giving up their time to contribute.  Their support was really integral to the success of the Employability Workshop.
 
Skills for Work Interview Skills Preparation Workshop for S2
Ambassadors: Johan Adamson, Colin Dickie, Ian Horne, Elaina Leach, Kathakali Ghosh, Edward Paul, Ankur Mukherjee
 
Skills for Work (SfW) courses are very popular with Shetland school pupils and the programme is valued by schools, parents and employers.  All courses are oversubscribed and tutors interview all SfW applicants to assess their readiness and motivation to start SfW.  As part of SDS’s School College Collaboration project, SDS co-ordinated workshops to help pupils prepare for their SfW interview and to help all pupils maximise their chances of getting a place on the course of their choice. 
The workshops open with a drama performance demonstrating an interview with a well prepared young person and an interview with a not so well prepared young person.  Pupils also have the opportunity to ask the actors to replay sections from the scene and freeze the action at the points where they think the actor could be more effective.  The pupils then coach the actor on how to achieve a more positive outcome.
 
After some quiet time to do individual interview preparation, the pupils then have a mock interview with a STEM Ambassador or representative from local business.  Pupils took the interviews very seriously and were given immediate feedback on what they did well and what they could do differently; interviewers also gave pupils written feedback which they were able to take away and use when they prepared for their real SfW interview.  It was noted how well the pupils did in the interview situation especially as they are only in Secondary 2.  Pupils also found the experience very helpful and felt that the workshops prepared them for their real interview.  It was also interesting to see the pupils who had had their mock interview coaching their peers who were waiting to go in for their interview.  This shows that the interview preparation sessions really give their communication and team working skills a good work out!