Gatsby Benchmarks
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death of the Saturday job”, the lack
of work experience (no longer
mandatory in secondary school for the
under-16s, despite calls for it to be
reinstated) and – until recently, with the
launch of a new careers strategy – cuts
to careers provision in schools.
Part-time jobs impart basic skills and
discipline (“communicating; not wearing
headphones; turning up on time, every
day”), while high-quality work experience
(or other employer encounters) can
transform young people’s aspirations.
“If pupils understand how learning
applies to real-world situations that helps
with educational attainment too,” adds
Mackey. “We need to give them
experience and tasks they can
show employers as things they’ve
actually undertaken.”
To address these issues, Barclays
asked “what core transferable skills will
young people need and how can we
embed those into our programme and
ensure young people are aware of
››
SIX KEY LIFE
SKILLS FOR
THE FUTURE
· Problem solving
· Communication
· Resilience
· Proactivity
· Creativity
· Adaptability
MOHAMMED USMAN, LIFESKILLS CHAMPION
30 // EMPLOYABILITY
After surviving a major heart
operation at the age of eight,
Mohammed Usman pledged to
take control of his future and
break down barriers for others.
His peers at the time were
“hanging about on the streets of
Bradford, West Yorkshire, and
not doing much with their lives”.
He volunteered locally and,
at the age of 14, represented a
humanitarian charity at the
United Nations in New York,
meeting world leaders,
including Kofi Annan.
Now in his final year at
Warwick University, he explains
how he became Barclays’ first
LifeSkills Champion, and how
the programme has shaped his
direction and ambitions.
“After one of Barclays Lifeskills’
charity partners promoted the
programme at a school assembly
in 2013, I went straight to the
library to sign up. I was the type
of person who wouldn’t dare
speak in front of the class, but I
knew I had to overcome that if I
wanted to change anything.
I completed modules every
day – before school, at lunch,
after school – then put them into
practice in my daily life. Within
weeks, I saw a difference in
myself, and felt it would be selfish
to not help others to benefit too.
I asked the school’s senior
leadership if I could deliver
workshops to tutor groups, but
was told there was no time
or funding.