Understanding the School Golden Ticket
For many people in industry, education is but a distant and happily forgotten memory. The disconnect between the two is worrying, in that the employers and entrepreneurs of today do not understand the journey of the employees of tomorrow.
Consequently, there is an increasing pan-industry skills shortage crisis being exacerbated by a lack of understanding of the key decisions, challenges, pressures, and options faced by children currently in school.
How can effective engagement, recruitment and training strategies be implemented when there is a general lack of comprehension of the educational journey of young people living in the UK today.
For instance, how many people know the key differences between the education systems in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland? For instance, in England students take General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE’s) at 16 whereas in Scotland they take the Scottish Qualifications Certificate (SQC’s).
Questions we are regularly asked:
Who is the best person to contact if we want to speak/present to a group of students?
What is the difference between assembly and form time?
Is a grade 9 really any better than a 4?
Can we target under 16’s on social media?
Where are the opportunities to support the curriculum through our business/industry?
When do children make key decisions about their futures?
What is the difference between Sixth Form and an FE College?
Are A-Levels better than vocational qualification and what about the new T-Levels?
Is safeguarding an issue for us?
Do we need to seek the permission of parents before we talk to students?
Where is the moral line drawn?
How do Multi-Academy Trusts operate?
Businesses, including not-for-profits, seek the golden ticket into schools for several reasons:
To offer careers advice and guidance
To act as mentors
To seek views and opinions (students and teachers)
To grow campaign and brand awareness
To engage with/recruit future local employees
Getting through the door isn’t easy as school and colleges get lots of requests many of which land on the desk or in the inbox of the wrong person. Consequently, fantastic collaborative opportunities are ignored and lots of time and money is spent with little reward.
YECCO, in conjunction with Eric (www.meet-eric.com) offers bespoke training for business and industry to better understand the UK education system, with tips and strategies on how to engage with schools effectively, without having to spend huge amounts of time or money doing it.