Keeping careers advice accessible: Top tips for SEND teachers
Kirstie Mackey, Head of Barclays LifeSkills, on how relating careers advice to real-life school situations can help pupils with SEND to explore their employment potential… Helping young people realise their aspirations and reach their full potential is a universal aim for teachers. Particularly when it comes to careers education and building the life skills that will prepare young people for the world of work, we know that educators are constantly on the look-out for better ways to equip their students for this next phase. And this is no different for educators of young people with special educational needs and disabilities. In the era of a changing world of work where the nature of future job roles is increasingly uncertain, every young person deserves to have access to quality careers education. However, from five years of working alongside educators through our LifeSkills sessions, we know that with already busy teaching staff and a packed core curriculum, it’s increasingly difficult to devote time specifically to this. That is why we were delighted to partner with Talentino, who specialise in developing career development programmes particularly for students with SEND, to develop a suite of high-quality SEND-oriented LifeSkills careers resources. As educators already well know, careers guidance isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, and that’s why it is important to put together flexible, adaptable lesson plans and resources that teachers can easily work into the existing curriculum and apply to both mixed-ability and exclusively-SEND student groups. From our experience of producing SEND content for educators that focuses on building key 21st-century skills, we have put together some top tips for teaching specific transferable skills to students with special needs that will help prepare them for the world of work. 1. Help students to recognise their transferable skills Building employability skills can often seem daunting to SEND students, as they may not see themselves as possessing skills that are relevant to the workplace. It’s important to show students that employability skills can be developed through a variety of experiences, and to help them recognise the value of what they have already learnt at school. Ask your students to list out various activities they’ve done at school recently, from presenting an idea in class, volunteering to help a teacher, or playing a team sport. Then give them examples of common workplace tasks – such as serving a customer or working in a team – and help them connect the skills they’ve used in their school life to the workplace examples. Doing so can make the world of work seem much more relevant and far less daunting. 2. Creative careers advice sessions which foster an entrepreneurial mindset Developing an entrepreneurial mindset isn’t just important for students who might want to set up their own business. It’s also an effective way of building valuable resilience and problem-solving skills. Putting creativity at the heart of teaching enterprise skills can bring these skills to life through exercises like coming up with a need or problem and then working about a way to solve it. Supporting students to work through various problem scenarios in fun and imaginative ways keep them engaged, shows them how to be creative in their approach to solving issues and fosters an entrepreneurial mindset that will help them succeed in any workplace. 3. Boost self-confidence by learning from past experiences Building self-confidence in young people with SEND is particularly important. Here it’s helpful to encourage students not to shy away from situations that make them feel nervous, but instead to see them as opportunities to learn and grow. Try asking students to share a challenge they’ve faced and overcome at school and have other pupils pick out what they did well and the skills they used to succeed in that situation. Not only will this help to boost their self-confidence to be complemented by their peers, but it will also help reinforce to the student that they are capable of overcoming obstacles, and that they have grown as a result. Whether you’re an educator working with mixed ability groups or delivering lessons to groups of young people with additional needs, employing these methods can make teaching life skills easier and more effective. Through tying key life skills to young people’s everyday life experiences and making content simple and easy to understand, quality careers education can be made available and accessible to young people of all abilities and needs. The LifeSkills programme offers careers advice lesson plans and teacher resources for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The lesson plans can be used alongside mainstream LifeSkills content with mixed ability groups or separately with exclusively SEN-focused groups. These resources have been created with experts at Talentino, are supported by the National Development Team for Inclusion, and have been tested with staff and students at several different schools.
Climb Academy – 84% of pupils feel there isn’t enough information on digital careers
A concerning 84% of young people have advised they don’t feel there is enough information available on how to pursue a career within digital sectors, according to new research by the Climb Academy, an online training platform founded by BBC Apprentice Winner, Mark Wright. The research, which surveyed 1,000 young people between the ages of 18 and 34 on their perceptions of digital skills, also revealed that nearly half of respondents [46%] felt that obtaining experience within a digital sector, such as coding or digital marketing, would improve their job opportunities, where a further 26% felt that an understanding of digital sectors would future-proof their job roles. The survey follows recent reports that the digital skills gap could cost the UK £141 Billion in GDP growth*, as more and more professionals struggle to keep pace with the advancing technological landscape. On discussing the Climb Academy’s recent findings, Mark said: “Despite the continued advances in technology and exponential growth in digital industries, it’s clear that we as a society simply cannot keep pace. “What’s most interesting about the survey results, however, is that this skills gap evidently extends to young professionals as well, where the majority have confirmed they don’t feel there is enough information or support on the different career paths available through digital. “This is somewhat alarming, but with the right careers guidance and training platforms and opportunities in place, it can be rectified.” Other take outs from the research include: Over one third [38%] of young professionals spend in excess of 4 hours per day on their mobile device. Half of respondents [53%] selected Facebook as their preferred social media channel, closely followed by Instagram [37%]. A massive 83% of respondents felt that professionals of all ages would benefit from learning digital skills, including digital marketing and coding. A quarter of young professionals learn best by watching video content Mark finished: “Digital industries offer a wealth of exciting career paths for young professionals, ranging from web development to cybersecurity. The educational sector needs to place as much importance on promoting the benefits of these roles as they do vocational careers. “Without a growth in digitally skilled professionals, very few members of society are going to be able to grasp and understand the tech landscape as it continues to develop and evolve, where cybersecurity breaches will become a paramount concern.” Launched in Spring 2018, the Climb Academy has been developed in partnership with leading edtech firm, e-Careers and digital marketing professionals from Climb Online, the digital marketing agency owned in partnership between Mark Wright and Lord Sugar. Its entry-level course provides the opportunity for professionals to enter the digital marketing sector or for existing professionals to enhance their digital skillset. For more details, visit: climb.academy