Background
In today’s fast-paced and technology-driven world, young people need to be equipped with employability skills to secure their future employment. Kagool, a global data and analytics and ERP specialist, partnered with EmployabilityUK (EUK), a national employability skills charity, to deliver an innovative programme that would encourage young people to use teamwork, effective communication, and problem-solving to achieve a solution to a typical customer-based issue within the tech industry.
Objective
The programme aimed to deliver a meaningful employability skills programme in conjunction with an innovative technology-based scenario to encourage young people to use teamwork, effective communication, and problem-solving to achieve an overall solution to a typical customer-based issue within the tech industry.
Process
The programme targeted 30 students across four schools within Coventry. The programme comprised four sessions of 60-90 minutes each. It included EUK core presentations to provide employability skills training to the participating students. Kagool staff served as volunteers and mentors on the programme. A celebration event was held to include all students, volunteers, and staff involved at the end of the programme.
The school representatives recruited their students, as they knew the students personally and could choose the most suitable participants. The representatives were briefed beforehand to ensure they were aware that students would not necessarily need to have an interest in the tech industry.
Louise Higgins, Kagool’s lead project manager, offered the opportunity to the Coventry Kagool office, and staff registered their interest through her.
Results
The programme empowered young people with employability skills, teamwork, effective communication, and problem-solving, which would be beneficial for their future employment, particularly in the tech industry. The programme also allowed Kagool staff to volunteer and mentor young people, thus contributing to their corporate social responsibility efforts.
What Students Said
“We found the Tech Boss challenge very rewarding as the question given was difficult to get our heads round at first. The advice we were given was really useful, especially around presentations and first impressions. The project was very eye-opening; seeing how much effort people have to put in on projects was very inspirational. The project gave us confidence, experience, and challenged us. It’s helped with team building since we didn’t all know each other well beforehand.”
What Kagool Said
“The level of investigation, presentation and teamwork has been fantastic. I’ve loved every minute of it and I’m really proud to have been part of it”.
Outcome and Future Prospects
The Kagool-EmployabilityUK partnership demonstrated the power of collaboration between industry and charity to deliver innovative programmes that empower young people with employability skills for their future employment. The programme’s success and positive feedback from the students highlight the importance of such initiatives in bridging the skills gap.
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