Making the most of your Virtual Work Experience Age range: 11-14, 14-16, 16-19 and 19+
Contents 03 Option one (60 mins) 06 Option two (95 mins) Session overview The interactive Virtual Work Experience tool is a 32-minute video that places students into a virtual work environment and provides the opportunity to interact with people from a range of departments within a digital transformation agency called Freeformers. The video features multiple pause points on screen that present either an interactive challenge for the young person to consider in a work context, or a selection of questions that invite them to explore the skills and motivations behind the different employees. The young person will also be asked for their input in certain discussions and decisions and will be able to get feedback on the choices they make. The tool can be used independently by young people, or as part of a guided discussion in a group setting. Option one explains how to work through the video and respond to all of the interactions presented. Option two suggests additional activities to help set the scene and encourage reflection on the value of work experience. About Freeformers Freeformers help companies and teams drive digital transformation. They help them to move faster, think differently and increase uptake of their digital products in the market. This is done through creating tools, workshops, events, campaigns and content that get people embracing digital products and skills. Freeformers have a One_For1 model which means that for every business person they train, they train a young person for free. barclayslifeskills.com Barclays 2016
Work Skills: Making the most of your Virtual Work Experience Option one 3 Option one Use the tool in a group setting, responding to the questions and interactive challenges. Below is a map through the tool and the characters that are introduced. Aim To understand what a work experience placement may entail and explore how young people can make the most of the opportunities it presents. Key learning outcomes Timings Resources Young people will be able to: Get a feel for the work that goes on at an innovative organisation by seeing an office in action and meeting the people that work there Begin to understand the skills needed for the world of work regardless of industry, such as resilience, communication, proactivity and creative thinking Recognise the range of roles and opportunities on offer across an organisation 60 mins to work through the tool and discuss The resources needed for this lesson plan are: Virtual Work Experience tool (barclayslifeskills.com/vwex)
Work Skills: Making the most of your Virtual Work Experience Option one 4 Activity steps Open the Virtual Work Experience tool (barclayslifeskills.com/vwex) on the screen at the front of the group, or direct young people to the webpage if they are working through individually/in groups Follow the instructions to using the tool on screen and at each pause point, ask the group to discuss the challenge posed for several minutes. There are also links to top tips throughout which can be used to prompt discussion, and links to relevant content on the LifeSkills website After discussing each challenge, users have the opportunity to select an on-screen option and then find out feedback from the Freeformers team about their selected option Depending on the ability and interests of your group, you may wish to pause at additional moments to highlight skills or contexts which you feel would benefit from a more in-depth discussion Note that to access the individual chapters, you must be logged in on the LifeSkills website 1. Meet Lucy The first person you will meet is Lucy, who will help students navigate their way through the day, introducing them to each of the departments and making sure they get the most from the experience barclayslifeskills.com/lucy You may wish to discuss in more depth issues around planning for your work experience placement and the importance of showing interest and enthusiasm when speaking with colleagues 2. Meet Spencer Next you will be introduced to Spencer who is involved in product development and planning, and a discussion with him touches upon the importance of communication and proactivity barclayslifeskills.com/spencer There is an interactive challenge in this section where the group can ask the following questions; Can you tell me more about this department? How did you get to where you are now? What s it like working here? 3. Meet Lewie and Kai During your meeting with Spencer, Lewie and Kai who also work in planning will enter the room, offering an opportunity for the group to put forward ideas for an upcoming coding event barclayslifeskills.com/lewie This is an opportunity for the group to discuss topics including online safety and evaluating a project, with an interactive challenge covering the following questions: How should 16-24 year olds stay safe online? What do you think would be interesting for young people to learn to code?
Work Skills: Making the most of your Virtual Work Experience Option one 5 barclayslifeskills.com/marta 4. Meet Marta Next you will get the chance to meet Marta from the marketing department who explains what this means in an organisation like Freeformers. She focuses on transferable skills, such as communication and resilience, and the future job market There is an interactive challenge featured in this section which includes questions on; What does marketing mean? How does your past experience apply to what you do at Freeformers? If you were advertising an event to people aged 16-24, how would you reach them? What would be the best way to measure performance of a social media post? barclayslifeskills.com/ayo 5. Meet Ayo and Dolly Ayo and Dolly are trainers, delivering digital transformation workshops. Students have the opportunity to consider how to improve presentation skills and how employers can support with personal skill development The interactive challenge in this section allows the group to explore the following questions; What does a trainer do? What does your career progression look like? 6. Catch up with HR Finally, there is another opportunity to speak with Dolly as she also works in HR. She will run through quick tips on job applications, preparing for an interview, and social media presence barclayslifeskills.com/hr barclayslifeskills.com/farewell 7. Saying farewell Once the group has finished working through the tool, ask them to reflect on the impression that they may have left on Freeformers following their work experience placement Ask them to consider how they could ensure they leave any work experience placement with a positive impression Now ask what they might do following the placement to ensure they have got the most out of their time with the company. For example, sending a follow up email, updating their CV or LinkedIn profile, or staying in touch with the organisation
Work Skills: Making the most of your Virtual Work Experience Option two 6 Option two Use the suggested activities to help you structure a lesson around the interactive Virtual Work Experience tool for a group of young people. An activity can be selected for before, during and after using the tool to help set the scene and encourage reflection on the value of work experience. These activities run over 4 pages covering suggested activities for age groups 11-14, 14-16, 16-19 and 19+. Preparing for work experience try this before watching the video to set the scene Taking the next step choose an appropriate point to pause the video before presenting this activity to check understanding of what they have seen so far Lasting impressions after using the tool, this activity will help the group to reflect on what they will take away from the session Aim Key learning outcomes Timings To understand what a work experience placement may entail and explore how young people can make the most of the opportunities it presents. Young people will be able to: Explain what they should do in advance to prepare for a work experience placement Demonstrate how they can leave employers with a positive impression Understand how following up after work experience can increase employability prospects Work through the Virtual Work Experience tool without additional discussion Preparing for work experience activity Taking the next step activity Lasting impressions activity Total 60 minutes 10 minutes 15 minutes 10 minutes 95 minutes Resources The resources needed for this lesson plan are: Virtual Work Experience tool (barclayslifeskills.com/vwex)
Work Skills: Making the most of your Virtual Work Experience Option two 7 Activity steps (11-14) Preparing for work experience Load the Virtual Work Experience tool and play the film until Lucy welcomes you to Freeformers and opens the door Ask the group to think about what they should do in advance to get the most out of work experience. Use the prompts below if needed: Research key information about the company e.g. where they are located, how you will get there, what the dress code is Prepare questions for your colleagues about their career experience/skills Ask the group what questions they might have for their employer on their first day of a work experience placement Prompt the group to think about this in the context of a digital or creative workplace, to make the link to Freeformers. Create a list of their suggestions Taking the next step Following the meeting with Marta in marketing, pause the film when Lucy invites you to go downstairs Explain that part-time jobs and work experience opportunities may not always be directly relevant to future work aspirations. However, there are valuable transferable skills that can be developed in almost any workplace Using the video as inspiration, ask what skills they could have developed so far. These could include; resilience (barclayslifeskills.com/resilience) making a good first impression teamwork, dealing with criticism working with different personality types thinking on your feet problem solving (barclayslifeskills.com/problemsolving) building your network leadership communication (barclayslifeskills.com/communication) the Discover the value of people skills (barclayslifeskills.com/peopleskills) page could be used as a prompt or follow-up Ask students why they think businesses offer work experience to young people what are the benefits for employers? Encourage them to reference the video e.g. they want to support young people in developing their skills, young people bring new ideas to the business, they might find new talent, it provides training opportunity for their own staff Lasting impressions Once the video has finished, choose an activity to summarise the learning Ask students to recap why a work experience placement could be valuable to them Using direct examples from the video, are there any more skills they ve practised as they ve met different people e.g. learning about different professions, problem solving, proactivity, creativity, getting out of your comfort zone and communication Collate their suggestions. How might they use these to add examples to a CV? You could go to the What work experience gives you (barclayslifeskills.com/wex) page of LifeSkills as a summary
Work Skills: Making the most of your Virtual Work Experience Option two 8 Activity steps (14-16) Preparing for work experience Taking the next step Lasting impressions Load the Virtual Work Experience tool and play the film until Lucy welcomes you to Freeformers and opens the door Ask the group to think about what they should do in advance to get the most out of work experience. Use the prompts below if needed: Research key information about the company e.g. where they are located, how you will get there, what the dress code is Get to know your employer e.g. competitors, size of team, departments Find out about your tasks e.g. what you need to complete and by when, what you can support on if you get all initial tasks completed Prepare questions for your colleagues about their career experience/skills Prompt the group to think about this in the context of a digital or creative workplace, to make the link to Freeformers. Create a list of their suggestions Thinking about one or two other industries, how do they think their initial questions might differ? Following the meeting with Marta in marketing, pause the film when Lucy invites you to go downstairs Explain that part-time jobs and work experience opportunities may not always be directly relevant to future work aspirations. However, there are valuable transferable skills that can be developed in almost any workplace Using the video as inspiration, ask what skills they could have developed so far. These could include; resilience (barclayslifeskills.com/resilience) making a good first impression teamwork, dealing with criticism working with different personality types thinking on your feet problem solving (barclayslifeskills.com/problemsolving) building your network leadership communication (barclayslifeskills.com/communication) the Discover the value of people skills (barclayslifeskills.com/peopleskills) page could be used as a prompt or follow-up Ask students why they think businesses offer work experience to young people what are the benefits for employers? Encourage them to reference the video e.g. they want to support young people in developing their skills, young people bring new ideas to the business, they might find new talent, it provides training opportunity for their own staff Once the video has finished, choose an activity to summarise the learning Ask the students what impression the work experience student leaves the Freeformers team with at the end of the day. What impression would they want to leave an employer with? Can groups come up with an action plan they could follow to ensure they leave an employer with a positive impression? This could include; prepare insightful questions, know where you are going, be friendly, be proactive in the tasks set, ask for advice, send a thank you email, ask for a reference Ask groups what the value is of emailing after they ve completed a placement, to say thanks for supporting them during their time at the organisation. Consider networking, sourcing future employment opportunities and securing a reference
Work Skills: Making the most of your Virtual Work Experience Option two 9 Activity steps (16-19) Preparing for work experience Taking the next step Lasting impressions Load the Virtual Work Experience tool and play the film until Lucy welcomes you to Freeformers and opens the door Ask the group how they think they could secure a part-time job or short-term work experience. In two minutes how many answers can they think of? If you have time, refer to the article How being proactive got Alfred hired (barclayslifeskills.com/alfred) and follow up by asking if they can think of similarly creative ways to secure work experience To make the link with Freeformers, ask the group to consider what skills employers in a digital or creative workplace might be looking for when recruiting Following the meeting with Marta in marketing, pause the film when Lucy invites you to go downstairs Introduce the concept of personal brand as a way of promoting yourself effectively. Do they have any unique skills or ways of thinking? To demonstrate their personal brand, ask groups to discuss ways in which they could showcase key 21st century skills like: problem solving (barclayslifeskills.com/problemsolving) communication (barclayslifeskills.com/communication) creative thinking (barclayslifeskills.com/creativethinking) resilience (barclayslifeskills.com/resilience) and proactivity (barclayslifeskills.com/proactivity) to a potential employer For example: Resilience ask for feedback after a task to ensure they can improve on performance in the future Proactivity follow up with an email to a work experience employer to enquire about future job opportunities Highlight that some industries are very competitive and often employers are looking for the whole package being able to showcase your transferable skills and the personality that you ll bring to their organisation during an interview or work experience placement, as well as outlining your qualifications and experience, can go a long way to leaving a good impression Taking a couple of employees in the video in turn, can groups summarise their personal brand? To extend this, you could use the Dictionary of Skills (barclayslifeskills.com/ dictionary) tool online, and follow the links above to explore each of the skills in more detail Once the video has finished, choose an activity to summarise the learning Ask the group to consider what they could do as a follow up to make the most of a work experience opportunity. Is there anything that might be specific to digital or creative industries? Examples might include; following up with key contacts after a placement to enquire about future opportunities, adding colleagues on LinkedIn, finding a mentor, or asking for a reference You might want to summarise the session by signposting to Why all work experience is good work experience (barclayslifeskills.com/goodwex) or Top Tips for your LinkedIn Profile (barclayslifeskills.com/linkedintips) tool on the LifeSkills website
Work Skills: Making the most of your Virtual Work Experience Option two 10 Activity steps (19+) Preparing for work experience Load the Virtual Work Experience tool and play the film until Lucy welcomes you to Freeformers and opens the door Ask the group to share their experiences of the workplace have they been on work experience, had a part-time job, or completed an internship? Collate suggestions of the skills they think they have learnt from these roles. Have they included skills such as problem solving, creativity, communication, resilience and proactivity? Of the skills discussed, what ones do they think would apply to a digital or creative workplace like Freeformers? Do they think a lot of the skills would be transferable across different sectors or industries they re interested in? Taking the next step Following the meeting with Marta in marketing, pause the film when Lucy invites you to go downstairs Introduce the concept of personal brand as a way of promoting yourself effectively. Do they have any unique skills or ways of thinking? To demonstrate their personal brand, ask groups to discuss ways in which they could showcase key 21st century skills like: problem solving (barclayslifeskills.com/problemsolving) communication (barclayslifeskills.com/communication) creative thinking (barclayslifeskills.com/creativethinking) resilience (barclayslifeskills.com/resilience) and proactivity (barclayslifeskills.com/proactivity) to a potential employer For example: Resilience ask for feedback after a task to ensure they can improve on performance in the future Proactivity follow up with an email to a work experience employer to enquire about future job opportunities Highlight that some industries are very competitive and often employers are looking for the whole package being able to showcase your transferable skills and the personality that you ll bring to their organisation during an interview or work experience placement, as well as outlining your qualifications and experience, can go a long way to leaving a good impression Taking a couple of employees in the video in turn, can groups summarise their personal brand? To extend this, you could use the Dictionary of Skills (barclayslifeskills.com/ dictionary) tool online, and follow the links above to explore each of the skills in more detail Lasting impressions Once the video has finished, choose an activity to summarise the learning Discuss the skills they think they have learnt from the Virtual Work Experience. Ask whether any or all of the skills they ve had the opportunity to practise are featured in their CV. If not, can they think about ways to better demonstrate these transferable skills? How might you talk about this experience on your LinkedIn profile to showcase your skills to potential employers? Ask individuals to draft a short personal statement for their LinkedIn profile. To extend this, you could use the Top Tips for your LinkedIn Profile (barclayslifeskills.com/linkedintips) tool on the LifeSkills website for inspiration