We were fortunate to partner with an organisation called Your Game Plan who are expert in providing young people with a comprehensive understanding of essential skills that are not traditionally taught in the classroom! In recognition of National Interview Month, our year 12 pupils were fortunate to have virtual mock interviews with various professionals from the world of work. All pupils were given an individual time slot to meet with professionals online. They were asked a series of questions and received feedback on their overall performance, whilst having the advantage of a professional quality assurance check over the details they have on their CV. It was an elated and marvellous success.
This was such a priceless, reminiscent, lucrative, and positive opportunity for our pupils to participate in, which has hopefully given them a transparent view of what the world of work will present to them, as we move on in the 21st Century towards the hybrid and convenient way of doing things. Moreover, it has prepared them with the tools and certainty they need to steer and be fruitful in future interviews they will be exposed to.
The professional volunteers expressed that it was an extremely enjoyable experience that they would like to support us again in the future, and that our pupils were a pleasure to interview, they were well-spoken, and their mannerisms and conduct were impressive to capture in such a short space of time, given their first experience of doing virtual interviews with employers. This was some ecstatic and stimulating feedback to receive at our end. Furthermore, our pupils were inundated with gratitude and extracted that they savoured the experience.
Some of the feedback from pupils was, “This was a great experience miss, I first went in extremely nervous and anxious, but by the time it was finished, I was buzzing”, and “Just epic, this was such a great experience, I enjoyed this” and “I was expecting to crumble, but it was actually decent”, and “The employer made me feel at ease and they were nice”. As you can see from the statements above, this was some lovely feedback to hear.
More information about Your Game Plan: https://yourgameplan.co.uk/
As part of Character and exploring the big question 'Where am I going next?' pupils are allowed to meaningfully engage with employers and apprenticeship providers so they can make well-informed decisions about their futures.
For more information and guidance about careers education at Ark St Alban's, you can email careers@arkstalbans.org