Work Pack: Employability Skills

JOBS NAME GAME

Aim This fast-paced icebreaker encourages young people to think about the wide range of jobs that people do.

You will need

• Nothing

How to do it Ask the young people to sit in a circle. Everyone has to think of a job starting with the first letter of their first name. Move around the circle, with each young person saying their name plus the job, for example Doctor Dan or Plumber Priya. The only rule is that there can be no duplicates, no matter how many people there are in the group with the same name.

If someone can't think of a job they miss a turn on that round. Keep going until everyone has run out of ideas.

CAREER STEREOTYPES

Aim This activity explores and challenges gender stereotypes in the world of work.

You will need

• 2 x A3 size sheets of paper with "AGREE" on one and "DISAGREE" on the other, stuck on opposite sides of the room.
• Career stereotype statements

How to do it Ask the young people to listen to the statements and then move to either the "AGREE" or the "DISAGREE" side, depending on their opinion. If they are undecided, they can stand between the two signs.

After each round, stop to allow people to express their points of view and engage in constructive discussion with each other. Explain that anyone can change their mind about a statement at any time, but that they should say why they have done so.

Review the activity by exploring what informs young people's opinions on gender stereotypes, including parental values, peers and the media. Conclude by pointing out that equality legislation in the UK makes it illegal to discriminate against someone during the recruitment process. Employers must make sure they hire the best person for the job, regardless of faith, gender, sexuality, disability, age or ethnicity.

Career stereotypes

1. Men usually earn more than women because they work longer hours
2. Women are better suited to caring professions
3. It is a man's job to support his family financially
4. Women are not good managers because they are more emotional than men
5. More men work in the haulage industry because they are better drivers than women
6. There are some jobs that women just can't do
7. There are more male celebrity chefs because men are better cooks
8. Women are better at teaching younger children because of their mothering instincts
9. Men find it hard to take orders from women, which is why there are fewer female bosses
10. Men are physically better suited to manual work

EXPLORING WORK ETHICS

Aim The aim of this activity is to generate discussion about the reasons why people choose particular jobs and explore which things, apart from money, employees gain from work.

You will need

• A flipchart and pens

How to do it Start by asking the group if anyone has heard of the term "work ethic". Encourage people to share what they think it means and introduce other work related concepts such as job satisfaction, volunteering, teamwork and taking pride in a job well done.

Split into three small groups and allocate each group one of the following questions to discuss:

• Are there "good jobs" and "bad jobs"?
• Are some jobs more important than others?
• What can you get out of work apart from money?

The young people should use their flipchart sheets to record their opinions. Invite each group to present their findings and encourage discussion about the points raised.

Conclude that people choose to work for many reasons, including wanting to make a difference, believing in a cause, utilising a talent or skill that they may have, or simply being interested in the profession. Money is important, but it is often not the sole motivator.

EXPERIENCE COUNTS

Aim: This activity is designed to encourage young people to think about the skills, qualities and experience they have that are transferable to future employment.

You will need

• A3 paper and pens
• Highlighter pens

How to do it Start the session by suggesting that people often sell themselves short on application forms and in interviews because they don't consider their life experience to be relevant or transferable to the job they are interested in. Hand out paper and pens and ask the young people to draw three overlapping circles on to their sheets. These should be headed :

• Work experience
• Hobbies and interests
• Volunteering or community projects

Inside each circle they should put details of things they have done and the skills or qualities developed in that activity. For example, someone who has had work experience may have acquired timekeeping and reliability qualities and developed IT skills. Any skills or qualities that are repeated should be noted in the overlapping sections.

Next, using a highlighter pen the young people should highlight the skills and qualities that they think employers look for. These can be in any of the three circles.

Ask the young people to share their findings and pull out some of the key attributes employers might look for, such as trustworthiness, good communication and organisational skills. Point out that even if a young person has never worked, they will have skills and qualities that will be transferable and beneficial to future employment.

BODY LANGUAGE

Aim This worksheet considers how body language is interpreted by others.

You will need

• Copies of the body language worksheet and pens

How to do it Start by reading this sentence aloud: "Body language is very important and most people agree that first impressions count. In fact, you can tell a lot about a person before they even say a word". Ask the young people if they agree or disagree. See if they can think of any examples of body language and people's likely reactions to it.

Now read out the following: "Research shows that first impressions are 55 per cent based on appearance, 38 per cent on tone of voice, and seven per cent on what is actually said."

Hand each person a body language worksheet and ask them to complete it, before discussing each point. Conclude by agreeing on examples of positive body language.

Body language

• A nice smile
• Good eye contact
• A constant stare
• Looking down all the time
• Sitting up very straight
• Slouching in a chair
• Leaning forward to emphasis a point
• Texting of answering calls
• Looking at the clock
• Clenched fists
• Twisting strands of hair
• Clean, well-ironed clothes
• Dirty trainers
• A strong smell of peppermint
• Greasy hair

EXPLORING THE OPTIONS

Aim: This role-play builds confidence and communication skills, while exploring the options available to young people after compulsory education.

You will need

• A copy of the scenario cards
• A flipchart and markers

How to do it Divide the young people into groups of five or six and explain that they'll be working together as a team for the next activity. Then hand each group a scenario card, which they must use to create a short role-play. The only rule is that all members of the group must take part.

Make paper and pens available for planning and allow 20 minutes for the groups to plan and practise their drama pieces a few times, before bringing everyone back together.

Allocate a section of the room for the stage and another as the seating area for the audience. Invite the groups to take it in turns to perform their role-play for the others.

Stress that the audience has an important role too - they should be listening and responding appropriately to what is happening on the stage. Applaud after each group has finished and ask the audience if they have any comments or anything extra to add.

GROUP 1

• Scene - the park in the summer holidays

Your group is waiting to collect their exam results from school and most of you think you have passed them all. Well done!

Another young person joins your group. This person hated school and did not come in for all the exams. He/she tells the rest of the group that qualifications and education are a waste of time - life is too short and is for having fun.

GROUP 2

• Scene - at home

A young person is starting college soon and discussing it with their mum, step-dad and siblings over dinner.

Mum has just said that the young person should find a part-time job to help fund their way through college and that they should start contributing £20 a week to the household. The young person is outraged and demands to know why they should pay anything while still in education, especially when they will need the money for other things. A family argument breaks out.

GROUP 3

• Scene - at school

A group of young people are planning a gap year between A-levels and starting university. Several of them plan to travel together to Australia and are talking about ways to fund the trip and the route they should take to get there.

Others want to go too but don't think their parents will let them. Together, the young people draw up a list of reasons of why they should be allowed to go away before university and what the benefits of a gap year are.

GROUP 4

• Scene - at an interview

A young person is being interviewed for a job with a major record company. It is a trainee post and while it will be the young person's first job, they are confident that they have the required skills.

The interviewing panel is made up of the marketing director, a DJ, a recording artist and the designer that the trainee would be working for.

Conduct the interview and decide the outcome.

Vanessa Rogers is a youth work trainer, consultant and author. Her books are available from www.nya.org.uk, or Jessica Kingsley Publishers, www.jkp.com. For training and consultancy, go to www.vanessarogers.co.uk.