It may not even be Easter yet but already many people are looking towards the summer holidays. Whether people decide to have a ‘staycation’ or travel further afield, students, teachers, lecturers and all those working in education can look forward to a break after what has been another busy academic year.
Although the summer months will be spent relaxing away from academic pressure, for many there is a pressure of a different kind; year 11 and 13 students will of course be waiting nervously for their GCSE and A level results which will be the key to opening the next chapter of their life. Whether they are looking to go on to College or University to further study, take an apprenticeship, sign up for professional training or look at full or part time work, there are several options for them. At the moment schools and colleges are working hard to ensure they are fully prepared, with some courses already carrying out assessments in subjects such as dance, PE, music and geography.
In terms of what the future holds it can be tough to navigate such a vast, complicated landscape. I know my own son, who is coming to the end of year 13, is worried about his CV, which Unis to accept offers from, what experiences or opportunities he can show and how he can use those to improve his future plans. He has been looking at part time work but it is very competitive and often he lacks any way to showcase the skills he has picked up through his time at school and college.
One of the things that globalbridge can do for young people is to help build evidence for their talents which are more than just their grades. A CV that lists what someone has achieved is just not good enough these days with such a competitive job market. Wouldn’t it be good to actually see, hear or feel what those experiences have been like for that person and how they can match the requirements of a job role? This is where globalbridge is uniquely placed to help young people do exactly that. An online digital learner profile, it allows users to upload video, audio or images which can uniquely capture someone’s talents to share with employers, schools, colleges or universities.
When I worked in College and University, we would always look to build as many opportunities or experiences as possible for the students, giving 2 or 3 years of experience as opposed to starting to build experience when they left. Things ranged from visits from The Royal Marines, trips to the Fire Station, organising sports tournaments or music events to talks from professional athletes, workshops from artists and trips to a local car factory. It is the same in schools where there are many opportunities given to students; art, music, drama, sport, workshops, events, environmental projects, peer leadership…the list goes on. However, many young people finish without a true record of what they have experienced and how it has benefitted them. My son again is a prime example; he has experienced some wonderful stuff through his time at school and college; dancing at The Royal Albert Hall and at Pineapple Dance Studios, playing in the pit band in the theatre, drumming on stage at the awards ceremony, workshopping with professional musicians, creating a memorial mural as part of a community project; so many unique and vibrant experiences but no way to showcase how they have helped to shape him as a young person, plus how they have developed transferable skills that he could take into Uni or the workplace.
With a globalbridge profile a unique URL can be shared with anyone and the talents and skills of that young person can really come to light. Not only that, but in the same place prospective employers, Uni admissions tutors or College course leaders can see their academic credentials and get a fantastic overview of them as a person, what they excel at and their level of achievements. For many of us, that is all we want to be able to do for our young people; level the playing field and give them a chance to showcase what they can do to as many people as possible to give them the best start in life.