Firms teach pupils employability skills

A hundred and sixty Year 10 pupils from Hemel Hempstead School took part in an Employability Skills event last week, organised and run by Connect Dacorum.
Hemel Hempstead School students at the Employability Skills eventHemel Hempstead School students at the Employability Skills event
Hemel Hempstead School students at the Employability Skills event

The 160 pupils were put into groups of 10 in the school hall, and each group was given a facilitator from a local businesses or charity who had given up their morning to help students with CV writing and interview skills.

Pupils practised interviewing their facilitators, putting themselves in the position of an employer looking at CVs for a trainee graphic designer and critiquing them, before looking in more detail at their own CVs.

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The second session concentrated on interview skills with mock interviews and a fun ‘speed interviewing’ game.

The pupils came away with lots of helpful feedback and advice from employers about what they look for in a CV, covering letter and throughout the interview process.

Manager of Connect Dacorum, Cindy Withey, said it was a great day.

She said: “This is the second year Connect Dacorum has organised this at Hemel Hempstead School and it is great to see how much both the pupils and facilitators get out of the experience”.

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Ruth George, of Ruth George HR Consultants, said: “At the beginning of the session, many of the students in my group were not aware of what skills they had.

“But after talking to them and finding out about the many activities each of them were involved in both inside and outside of school, such as volunteering to teach football and refereeing on a Saturday, they were able to enhance their CVs.”

Any businesses which would like their staff to be involved and become a facilitator for next year’s event should contact Cindy Withey at Connect Dacorum on [email protected]

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