Career Academy At The College
The Sixth Form College, Solihull is looking for local employers and employee volunteers to come forward as mentors, providing one-to-one support for students as part of an innovative education scheme, which aims to raise aspirations and develop the employability skills of 16 to 19 year olds.
The Sixth Form College, Solihull is to be affiliated to national charity Career Academies UK to run the Career Academy programme, which provides young people with work-related experiences, including guest speakers, workplace visits and a six-week paid internship.
The College is now searching for local employees to become mentors (‘Partners in Business’) to its Career Academy students. Each employee volunteer will be partnered with one student to mentor, to provide support and act as a role model.
‘Partners in Business’ meet the student they are paired with about ten times over 18 months. Each meeting last approximately an hour and a half and they help the student:
* Reflect on coursework and reinforce classroom learning with real life examples
* Expand their understanding of workplace culture and etiquette
* Practice employability skills such as time management, problem solving, CV writing or interview techniques
* Widen their network of contacts for the future.
Business teacher at the College, Ranjit Hayer said, "We are incredibly grateful to our network of local employee volunteers, who contribute their time and skills to make a difference to the lives of our students through the Career Academy programme. At the same time we are always looking for more individuals to offer their support, particularly as Partners in Business, so that we can offer each of our Career Academy students an invaluable one-to-one mentoring experience.
"We know that building a good, supportive, relationship with a Partner in Business can help these young people recognise that there are many paths to success and greatly enhance their life and career aspirations. In addition, by providing volunteers, local employers benefit from an increase in future recruits with greater workplace awareness, and, at the same time, develop the leadership and management skills of existing staff."
If you are interested in volunteering as part of the Career Academy programme at The Sixth Form College Solihull, or for more information about the various volunteering opportunities available, please contact Sue Brookes, Career Academy Administrator at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
