Between 6th and 8th July 2016 Future Foundations’ ran a multi-day World of Work programme at City of London Academy Islington. The training programme was aimed at 75 Year 10 students who were not undertaking work experience during activities week and designed to develop their world of work skills; creativity and enterprise, self confidence, risk taking, energy and motivation and leadership. Our programme took place across two days, with students taking part in an excursion to Deloitte on the day inbetween Future Foundations training to experience a work place, meet and receive advice and training from business representatives.
The programme was course directed by Jon Harper with support from Future Foundations’ coaches Charanjut Singh, Martin Ransley, John Paul Metcalf and Neusha Milanian.
- Encourage students to take personal responsibility for their futures; to be proactive in their approach to work experience and the future benefits of doing so.
- Develop students professional attitudes through a Business Challenge and highlight the importance of current achievement and attitude for future success.
- Build student’s confidence in themselves and the interview process, through recognising their own qualities and how to communicate these in a professional manner.
- Equip students with key interview skills and experience, combining theory, role play and practice interviews.
- Introduce SMART goal setting techniques and challenge students to set ambitious personal and academic goals for themselves
- Challenge students set tangible goals for the future by highlighting the connection between effective planning now and future success.
- Provide fun, interactive and motivational careers training for CoLAI’s activities week, supported by their experience with Deloitte to inspire students and enable them to make the most of opportunities available to them over the coming years.
Future Foundations provided a varied programme delivered across the school site, which thanks to other year groups and some of Year 10 being off site we had fairly free reign over. The two days mixed experiential team tasks and reflection sessions, challenges and workshops all relating learning to the objectives of the programme. Both days were launched with a motivational plenary, delivered by Course Director Jon.
Students then worked through workshops which enabled them to discover their talents, passions and related prospects and develop their presentations skills. They built their team work and problem solving skills by working in small groups to construct marshmallow towers, this exercise challenged them to collaborate and use their creative ingenuity to competing to build the highest tower. The attitudes and approaches they put into practice in this session would help them with the next challenge they would face as a team and individually allow them to develop vital skills employers look for.
In the afternoon we introduced the World of Work Challenge, an enterprise task in which the team devised creative solutions to local issues and ideas for business ideas which were in need in the local area.
The programme was facilitated by an experienced team of positive, dynamic staff inspired by the firm belief that all young people are full of capability and possibility and throughout the programme there was an ethos of support, teamwork and cooperation.
Future Foundations have a rich history of working with City of London Academy Islington having based our Transition Summer Schools here historically and delivering several programmes for the schools’ own students over the years. It was fantastic to return to CoLAI once more and work with their students over multiple days.
On the last day of the programme students were invited to make use of the Future Foundations 30 Day Challenge app, a support tool to help participants to carry forward the energy and good intentions of the programme into their lives and achieve the SMART goals they had challenged themselves to complete over the next month.
The 30 Day Challenge is an effective and proven goal setting technique which breaks down larger goals into manageable daily steps for a month at a time. Participants choose something they want to do differently, commit to achieving it, one day at a time for a month, and receive support along the way. We wish CoLAI students good luck with the remaining weeks of their 30 Day Challenge and for those that haven’t yet signed up there is still time to kick start change in your life!
If you are interested in bringing Future Foundations training to your school please contact alice@future-foundations.co.uk to explore how we can help your students to reach their full potential.