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Equal Choices
Purpose of Equal Choices
The Equal Choices programme has been running now for over 15 years, supporting young people from a wide range of backgrounds as they develop confidence and skills through interaction with host employers. The programme has traditionally been provided to Year 9 (13-14 year old) students, partially with a view to giving them early additional exposure to the working environment ahead of their fuller two week work experience the following year.
Employability Data
In the past year, Countec has collated and analysed the data from over 2,500 employer reports on Year 10 students’ skills during their 2 week work experience. These reports rate students on the 8 employability skills as defined by the CBI – including positive attitude, functional skills, business and customer awareness, problem solving and communication. This data has shown that for all schools the lowest rating is in the area of Problem Solving, followed by Business and Customer Awareness.
Developing the programme format
In light of these results Countec has added an element of Problem Solving technique to the E=C programme with the intention of giving these students a chance to shine in this area. We have trialled a session on this area – called Fresh Minds – twice in the last 3 months with very positive outcomes.
We are also trying to respond to the needs of employer partners and students. Some employers report that they struggle to find enough mentors to support the second day of the existing method. Feedback from students however suggests that the mentoring element is important and so we wish to retain this component, in addition to the new element of problem solving technique. Additionally we wish to move the review session into the end of day two of the employer visit whilst the learning is fresh.
Countec would like to discuss the programme to be put in place with each employer partner in advance of arranging the pairings with schools. We want to add the new elements while ensuring that we don’t lose the value of existing sessions. Please see below a suggested draft running order for how the revised programme might look.
Suggested draft approximate timings
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DAY 1 |
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9.30am – 10.00am |
Initial Employer organisation introduction |
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10.00am – 11.00am |
Workout – speed dating format session with the employee volunteers |
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11.00am – 2.00pm |
Mentoring to include shared lunch |
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2.00pm – 2.30pm |
Round up of day one |
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2.30pm |
Students collected by School |
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DAY 2 |
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9.30am – 10.30am |
Introduction to day two – further Employer organisation information |
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10.30am - 1.00pm |
Fresh Minds (to include breaks) Countec led |
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1.00pm – 1.30pm |
Lunch |
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1.30pm – 2.30pm |
Review |
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2.30pm |
Students collected by School |
Summary of benefits to students
- Learning about the World of Work
- Building on their communication skills (Speaking and Listening)
- Developing problem solving skills
- Practicing working in teams
Dates
This year we would like to bring the programme forward by a few weeks. We are looking to start the programme soon after the Easter holidays in mid April. This means that we are aiming to hold the Certificate Presentation in mid to late June rather than early July.
Selection Criteria
One of the aspects of problem solving which we believe ties in very well with Equal Choices is that we believe that when thinking of potential solutions diversity is a real strength. We are therefore encouraging schools to ensure that the student group (approximately 16 students) is diverse by gender, ethnicity and academic ability. We are also allowing them to consider if they might wish to add one or two students from their older year groups if this would help both the individual and the group dynamic.
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