Welcoming the start of a new school year
Welcoming the start of a new school year
Written by ELBA’s Education team
ELBA’s Education team is dedicated to preparing young people for future success by introducing them to the world of work, raising their aspirations and helping them identify clear career goals.
A core focus of our efforts is supporting schools by creating a robust careers programme and meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks 5 and 6, ensuring every pupil has multiple opportunities to learn directly from employers and gain first-hand workplace experiences through activities such as speaking, mentoring, enterprise schemes, work visits and bespoke workshops. We are also expanding our support to schools for Benchmarks 2, 3, and 4 which involve learning from career and labour market information, addressing individual student needs and linking curriculum learning to career pathways.
As part of our programme, we deliver a variety of activities including Career Insight Visits, Careers Talks/Carousels, CV and LinkedIn Reviews, Mock Interviews, Topic-specific Workshops (such as STEM and coding) and Full Year Group Workshops.
To consistently measure impact, the Skills Builder Universal Framework has been integrated into all education activities, including volunteer recruitment, training and resources. This allows students to gain familiarity with employer expectations regarding eight essential skills*, providing them with a common language and profile for their educational and employment progression, and enabling consistent data reporting across our programmes.
What skills do students need support with?
Based on conversations with our schools and corporate partners, students need support with a range of skills like:
- Soft skills: Critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, teamwork, communication, self-belief, self-management and emotional intelligence are essential for success in various fields, including STEM.
- Digital literacy: Students need to graduate with developed digital skills and the ability to use them effectively to find, evaluate, use and create content to support business objectives.
- Hands-on learning: Opportunities for hands-on learning, replicating tasks and standards required for the world of work are crucial for developing future work skills like design thinking and creative solution development.
- Attitudes and values: Students need support in developing ethical and responsible attitudes and values, as well as creative ingenuity to contribute to a bright future.
- Real-life skills: Many students lack sufficient opportunities to build real-life skills in school. Bringing more applied skills into classroom and school work can strengthen students’ confidence, sense of readiness, and future success.
These skills are crucial for students to thrive in 2030 and beyond, and they require a focus on active learning, growth mindset discussions, and opportunities to develop both knowledge and practical abilities.
If you are interested in supporting young people, get in touch with us at [email protected].
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