Life of an Undergrad
Tuesday 3 March 2015
Monday 16 February 2015
Saturday 31 January 2015
Sunday 11 January 2015
Saturday 29 November 2014
Saturday 22 November 2014
Friday 14 November 2014
Dear Parent/Parents, 5 reasons why getting a job no
Dear Parent/Parents,
Some of you may think that young people are ‘lazy,’ or are
not ‘trying hard enough’ to get a job. Here are five reasons why comparing job
hunting to your day just doesn’t work:
1.
The
pre-requisites for even an entry level job are so high- no longer can you
stroll out of high school and walk into an entry level job. You will need a
degree for that.
2.
Underemployment-
graduates are taking lower-skilled jobs, so other young people can’t get
them.
3.
Employers
want young people to have qualifications and vast experience- catch 22! In
your day, young people were given a chance to work their way up an
organisation, gaining qualifications and experience along the way.
4.
There are
fewer jobs- FACT.
5.
The
recruitment process is severe- it is no longer just about handing in a CV
and getting an interview, think: CV, company specific questions, psychometric
tests, telephone interview, assessment centre (usually with a group task and
presentation element), and finally an interview! (Phew, I am tired just writing
it!)
So, take these points on-board the next time you tell a
young person to, ‘just get a job.’
Kind regards,
Young People of the UK.
Wednesday 29 October 2014
About me!
I have a keen interest in Further Education,
Higher Education and young people. Being a young person myself, I understand
the dilemma of trying to decide what to do with your future. I attended WSFC
and I found the careers department very helpful in giving guidance and
organising work experience, so that I could try and decide what I wanted to do.
While at university, I gained a keen interest in careers through voluntary and
paid positions at The University of Worcester. I was employed by the careers
department to create the jobs bulletin. This involved speaking to local
businesses to find out about vacancies, creating the document, distributing it,
advertising it on social media, and analysing uptake. I have found that students
are very keen to take advice from a person who has first-hand knowledge and
experience.
I undertook the Worcester Award to boost my employability, at the University of Worcester. I thoroughly enjoyed the award and I wrote a piece about the award as The Worcester Award Ambassador. I have attended events, at the university, to engage with students and promote the benefits of the award. I wrote a careers blog, for the careers department, about how to write a good CV, how to development relevant skills and how to apply for jobs (http://lifeofanundergrad.blogspot.co.uk/). This has now moved to my own personal blog. My employability articles have also been posted by The Guardian and Targetjobs. (http://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2013/nov/29/students-employability-league-tables).
I have also been developing 'career videos' and info-graphics, which will assist first year students in understanding all of the employability options available to them at The University of Worcester. (http://www.powtoon.com/p/e607kIPvxtF/).
I currently work for Archway Academy, as an Education Mentor. The school is for young people who have been excluded from PRU and have SEN. I teach on a 1:1 basis, functional skills and SETPD. From starting with my pupil, she has gone from having no qualifications to gaining qualifications in English and Math.
I am a member of the CDI, studying towards a PG Cert in Coaching and Mentoring and NVQ L4 IAG.
In my spare time, I am a Youth Ambassador for YEUK. YEUK is an organisation that help young people action change. I have received funding from O2 Think Big, to organise an employability event. This event had ten different organisations, in attendance, and multiple elements, including: a panel, team work exercise, and employer presentations. I received positive feedback from the young people and organisations. From this, I have been nominated for a BVSC award and the Queen’s Young Leader Award. I am now putting in a bid for the second tier of funding.
I am passionate about employability and helping young people find the right careers guidance. In the future, I would like to be a careers advisor, in higher education, and have my own employability workshop business.
I undertook the Worcester Award to boost my employability, at the University of Worcester. I thoroughly enjoyed the award and I wrote a piece about the award as The Worcester Award Ambassador. I have attended events, at the university, to engage with students and promote the benefits of the award. I wrote a careers blog, for the careers department, about how to write a good CV, how to development relevant skills and how to apply for jobs (http://lifeofanundergrad.blogspot.co.uk/). This has now moved to my own personal blog. My employability articles have also been posted by The Guardian and Targetjobs. (http://www.theguardian.com/education/mortarboard/2013/nov/29/students-employability-league-tables).
I have also been developing 'career videos' and info-graphics, which will assist first year students in understanding all of the employability options available to them at The University of Worcester. (http://www.powtoon.com/p/e607kIPvxtF/).
I currently work for Archway Academy, as an Education Mentor. The school is for young people who have been excluded from PRU and have SEN. I teach on a 1:1 basis, functional skills and SETPD. From starting with my pupil, she has gone from having no qualifications to gaining qualifications in English and Math.
I am a member of the CDI, studying towards a PG Cert in Coaching and Mentoring and NVQ L4 IAG.
In my spare time, I am a Youth Ambassador for YEUK. YEUK is an organisation that help young people action change. I have received funding from O2 Think Big, to organise an employability event. This event had ten different organisations, in attendance, and multiple elements, including: a panel, team work exercise, and employer presentations. I received positive feedback from the young people and organisations. From this, I have been nominated for a BVSC award and the Queen’s Young Leader Award. I am now putting in a bid for the second tier of funding.
I am passionate about employability and helping young people find the right careers guidance. In the future, I would like to be a careers advisor, in higher education, and have my own employability workshop business.
Thursday 23 October 2014
YEUK Midlands Event
I decided to hold a follow-up event, to the Youth Friendly
MP Campaign, in Worcester on the 10th October, at the University of
Worcester. The aim of the event was to bring together organisations, and young
people together, to discuss 'issues' in Worcestershire. The event was varied
and contained lots of different elements. I did this, so that the young people
had lots of different options. There was something for everyone!
The event started with a presentation, by myself, about
YEUK. This was followed by a presentation from HSBC UK about their graduate
programmes. This was targeted at the graduates, in the room. A panel element
followed, so that young people could ask a variety of panellists questions. The
panel included: Robin Walker MP, Alex Quang from O2 Think Big, Craig Bateman
from Worcestershire Youth Council, Matt....from Worcestershire Hub, Tom...from
the YMCA, Andreea...a linguistic consultant, and Alex from HSBC UK. I tried to
make the panel as varied as possible, so the young people could ask a variety
of questions on issues such as: volunteering, project funding, politics,
minimum wage etc. The young people were a little reluctant to ask questions,
but I had a few prepared! A team building exercise followed. The aim of this
activity was to promote teamwork and to develop presentation skills. The young
people had five minutes to make an animal out of materials and to come up with
a one minute pitch. They then pitched to the panel, to decide on prize winners.
The evening ended with free-networking, free food and drink and music.
With the help of Sylvia, I applied to O2 Think Big funding
of £300. If you think creatively, then this is more than enough money. I got
the venue for free (as it is my university). I spent £80 on prizes and
materials for the team building exercise. I also spent £65 on food and £65 on advertising
materials. I am not very good at creating advertising materials, so this is why
I paid for materials, but I would like to develop this skill for future events.
I would also advise on ordering less food than people that sign up for the
event. 65 people signed up, 45 attended, and I ordered food for 35 people.
I thought the event went really well. I was nervous about
attendance, but it was good! I got positive feedback, from the panellists, and
some pointers that I could work on. Some of these included: explaining the
relevance of each event element better and possibly making the networking more
structured.
In the future, I would like to be able to apply for the next
tier of O2 Think Big funding. With this, I would like to set up CV workshops.
My advice would be to just go for it! Try to partner with
student societies and ask if you can have things for free in return for doing
something. Make your event varied and free food will always get young people
there!!
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