Getting Involved

How can you get involved?

Working with schools is not restricted to large employers with many resources.  From public and private to third sector organisations; SMEs to large national employers; and from any industry; any organisation can make a difference.  Organisations of all sizes and across all sectors are engaging with young people and schools in Angus in a variety of ways.

What suits your business?

Your time and resources are precious so you decide what level of involvement is best for you and your organisation and we will help to match this with the needs and requirements of our local schools.

There are lots of ways to get involved…

A variety of flexible opportunities exist to enable employers and the wider community to engage with and work in partnership with schools in Angus ranging from those that do not involve much hands-on commitment, such as the provision of resources to support the curriculum, to initiatives that require both the school and the organisation to work together to develop new thinking.

Potential activities range from classroom talks and supported work placements to working with young people who are having difficulty coping with a traditional school curriculum.

Involvement could be between one school and organisation in the local area; via multiple school/employer engagements, i.e. a cluster defined approach; or by a whole authority, Angus wide, approach – whatever is most appropriate to each specific project, the curricular needs of the school(s) and the nature and capabilities of your business/organisation.

The list below gives a general idea of some of the different ways that employers and the wider community can engage with education in Angus.  It is important to note, however, that these are merely examples that are all capable of combination, addition and alteration to fit your particular needs and circumstances, and that other possibilities exist.

• Job Preparation Skills - staff support young people or those seeking to enter the job market by helping them with CV writing and interview techniques, conducting mock interviews and giving feedback, and highlighting career options available. You can help build their confidence and show them how to demonstrate their skills and talents to an employer.
• Employability Games - staff work with pupils on fun and educational exercises, which support employability and core skills development.
• Curriculum Inserts – staff support coursework on specialist areas covering the relevance and applications of the subjects studied in school to 'real life' and the world of work.
• Motivational Talks - involve a range of employed people talking about how they got to where they are today, the challenges and rewards and the importance of employability skills to inspire and encourage young people
• Mentoring - an opportunity for staff members to pair up with a young person or member of staff, either in a one-to-one or group situation, to provide support and encouragement.
• Work Experience / Job Shadowing - businesses open their doors to provide work based learning enabling young people to gain a general experience of the workplace and enhance their core skills.
• Work-based Vocational Learning - is now a key part of the curriculum.It offers young people the opportunity to support their classroom learning with practical learning in the workplace, which, in turn, helps them to achieve a recognised qualification.It allows them a taste of what the world of work is really like beyond what they can learn from a work experience placement, and is delivered over a longer period of time with related benefits.
• School-based Enterprises - provide an opportunity for staff to support pupils in the completion of real-life projects or problems to solve.
• Teacher Placements - provide an opportunity for teachers to learn about what you need from your future employees and transfer that to the classroom enabling them to contextualise and bring alive learning for young people.  By giving teachers opportunities to spend time in the world of work, they get interesting, stimulating and relevant hands-on experiences of a wide range of industries and careers and how they relate to what they are teaching in the classroom.

Download our 'Getting Involved: Types of Engagement'
 information sheet (PDF, 70 KB).

No matter what the input, the contribution of employers and other organisations helps us in Angus to deliver a more enterprising approach to learning and teaching – making learning more relevant and exciting – and improving young people's understanding of the world of work and commerce.

Read about the various ways employers are currently working in partnership with Angus schools in our newsletter.

Your involvement would be of benefit to education in Angus and your input would be valued!

Why not contact us and get involved?