Share your skills with east London students, and learn new skills along the way!

Written by Hayley Turner-McIntyre, Project Manager Education team

The Education programme is a major part of ELBA’s offer and an essential resource accessed by schools to get students ready for the world of work through various skills-enhancing workshops and career insight opportunities. The support from volunteers is a key element the team rely on and an important component in providing insight for students. All education partners are state schools (community schools, foundation schools, academies, colleges and grammar schools) and ELBA supports the careers teams within our partner schools to help facilitate the achievement of Gatsby Benchmark 5 and 6:

Benchmark 5 – Encounters with employees and employers
Benchmark 6 – Experiences of workplaces & exploration of career opportunities

A lot of young people we work with do not have connections in the industries they wish to work in in the future, therefore interaction with a volunteer may be their only opportunity to explore their options in a 1:1 setting and learn about the steps and skills needed for their aspiring future career. All of our opportunities focus on the Skills Builder Framework – the 8 essential skills that are important to the students’ development: Aiming High, Staying Positive, Teamwork, Leadership, Creativity, Problem Solving, Speaking and Listening. Career Insight Visits and our offering of education opportunities are useful interventions to develop student confidence, increase social capital and make valuable connections.

If you have not had much interaction with young people, working with and supporting them directly can sound daunting! With the support of teaching staff and ELBA colleagues, we are there to ensure your interactions with young people are productive and beneficial on both sides. Not only will you be making a positive impact on young people by helping them learn new skills, but it can be incredibly rewarding and you can also practise developing your own skills, including presentation skills and confidence building.

Here are our top tips when it comes to making the most out of volunteering with young people:

• Every young person is different – it is important to remember that every young person is different and learns in various ways. This may be their first experience in a corporate setting, and meeting new people in a professional environment. Therefore, they may be overwhelmed at the start but will quickly settle into the session.
• Find your enthusiasm – although the students are here to learn and upskill, the day should be fun and accessible to young people. Relatability is important to ensure students can see their future selves using these skills and knowledge.
• Be relatable – learning about the world of work can be daunting and confusing for students learning about an industry for the first time. Be creative in the ways to help them understand a topic, such as how it relates to what they are learning about now.
• Be patient and adaptable – sometimes things happen which are out of our control – while ELBA will always be on hand to support, we encourage volunteers to be as cooperative with us and the students as much as possible.
• Be prepared – attend volunteer briefings or access the recordings in advance to ensure you understand expectations and give plenty of time to ask questions before the session.
• If you have ideas, please share them! ELBA always welcomes new ideas and other ways volunteers can get involved in our opportunities.
• Enjoy yourself! You are giving up your time to be there and be part of this session. The students will be excited and keen to engage with you also, so make the most of interacting and getting to know the students – you may also learn something from them!

To learn more about our volunteering opportunities at Education Works, please email educationworks@elba-1.org.uk. We look forward to having you volunteer with us!

To stay up to date with the latest news, opportunities and success stories, please sign up to receive our monthly newsletter, here.