What career is right for me? Should I go to university or select a work and study option such as apprenticeships and T-levels? What qualifications are needed for these routes and how can I find out more? What do I even wear for an interview? These are some of the many questions young people you are supporting or caring for might be asking themselves.
Young people face a lot of important choices in many different areas of their lives. 70% of 10-17 year olds have concerns over whether they'll have enough money in the future, and 71% worry about not having a job*.
It’s widely acknowledged that an empowered young person is a happier, more productive and more confident young person, so how can you help yours to navigate their way through to this?
Knowledge is power: the more clued-up and informed the young people in your life are, the more comfortable they will be in making those all-important decisions. They almost certainly have a lot of questions, some of them you yourself may not feel confident in answering, and lots of them they won’t even feel comfortable asking.
That’s where Barclays LifeSkills comes in. From getting advice about their options, to applying for jobs and just generally building their confidence, LifeSkills resources are designed to equip young people with the right knowledge, skills and tools to feel able to ask the right questions of the right people and make the right choices.
Many young people can feel overwhelmed by the choices they need to make and the actions they need to take, resulting in them putting off doing the important stuff altogether. The Barclays LifeSkills CV Builder talks young people through the process of creating a CV step-by-step, building up each section with accompanying advice, tips and examples, pulling their interests from their social media accounts and leaving them with an employer-ready CV in a professional-looking template. 84% of young people felt they had a better understanding of what makes a good CV and cover letter after using LifeSkills resources**.
Barclays LifeSkills breaks down the complicated and intimidating aspects of professional development into simple, accessible and engaging articles, films and interactive tools, which can help your young people to take those positive first steps towards a job or career. For example, the Wheel of Strengths tool helps young people find out how their skills, interests and personality traits match up with a range of job roles and can be a useful introduction to thinking about roles they may have previously not considered.
Confidence is important at any age, but by empowering your young people to start building it up early - and equipping them with the tools and resources to do so - those important decisions will become much easier to make, and most importantly of all, they will be the right ones.
So whether you’re an educator or a parent, (or both) check out all the resources LifeSkills can offer both you and your young people through your tailored dashboard. Use the free resources to empower and support them, and give them the tools they need to get comfortable making important decisions.
Link here on 'Wheel of strengths tool':
Wheel of Strengths
Source:
* https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/information/professionals/resources/good-childhood-report-2021
** LifeSkills young people research- November 2020-2021
