Enhancing employability skills and careers knowledge – STEM Club Workshop GX103
A session to promote opportunities for club leaders to learn how to incorporate and enhance careers knowledge and employability skills for students within club sessions and to support the schools careers agenda. Section 1: Review of the clubs – brief overview from each of the attendees, what methods do they currently use to promote careers, employability and essential skills What is a STEM Ambassador and a STEM Ambassador Hub - their roles, how they can support Meet a STEM Ambassador – have SAs in attendance – each give a max five minute review of themselves, who they are, where they work, types of engagements with schools they have supported Skill Set Shortage – discuss shortage of skill sets, what employers seek, what are the Gatsby Career Benchmarks, why it is important to address the skills shortage and support students to maximise their potential Understanding the Skills Builder Framework – explore Skills Builder, free resource, practical application across all subjects, easy to identify and enhance skills across club projects, supports Gatsby’s Career Benchmarks Embedding Careers and Essential Skills – look at ways to include careers knowledge and support employability / essential skills; utilise STEM Clubs careers activity set; review some national competitions or activities and identify the key skills within them; consider projects / activities run by the club leaders analyse how they include or could include key skills Practical Activities Section 2: Parental Role – discuss how parents could be engaged to promote STEM or to increase parental understanding of careers, employability skills and the importance of STEM subjects; run club session for parents or local community; creating information sheets or ask the students to create short videos on STEM, the clubs, projects, skills they learn and why it is important Creating Opportunities – clubs discuss ideas for what they could do to create opportunities for students – visits, talks, careers da
Summary
This workshop will promote opportunities for club leaders to learn how to incorporate and enhance careers knowledge and build skills for students within club sessions. Club leaders will become confident in their understanding and use of STEM Ambassadors, Science Capital, Gatsby Careers Benchmarks, and the Skills Builder Framework. The workshop is for teachers or technicians from secondary schools, Sixth Form and FE colleges across England with KS3, KS4 or KS5 provision. This regionally based face to face course lasts approximately 2 hours and enables course attendees to network, share ideas and best practice. The workshop includes practical club activities to try. The workshop explores the following topics:
- current club practice to promote careers, employability, and essential skill sets
- why employability skills are important, and the role clubs can play
- how Science Capital can be used to raise student awareness of skills and careers knowledge
- identifying essential skills and the methodology of the Skills Builder Framework
- understanding the role of STEM Ambassadors and how to engage with them
- Gatsby Career Benchmarks and how STEM Clubs can help address the skills shortage
- embedding careers, essential skills, and real-world context into club activities
- how clubs can reward and add value to students demonstrating excellence in skill sets
Outcomes
By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
- develop a plan with short, medium, and long-term goals to increase careers awareness and employability skills
- utilise Science Capital and Gatsby Careers Benchmarks to identify aspects of the club that support the school’s career plan
- create a detailed schedule of events and opportunities to expand student experiences of potential careers and STEM influences
- identify a series of employability skills from the Skills Builder framework to be supported in club projects
- provide real world context to projects and implement work-related roles for the students