Of the 100 young people that the HOPE project is helping pursue an education, 15 of them are studying in a vocational program. I realized during the last term break that these young people have different needs than my other students. Most of them were not able to pass the national exam at the end of primary school and did not have a chance to finish high school.
I decided to try something new and design a workshop just for them. Through contacts at one of the local vocational centers, I was able to get a team willing to try to fit in a variety of topics in two-days of activities that might help these young people.
The plan:
Our objective: build self-awareness & self-respect, preparing to enter the workforce, either as a trades-person or a small business owner or employee.
Day 1: Personal development: Who am I? What are my strengths & weaknesses? How do I communicate? How do I deal with conflict? Am I a leader? What leadership skills do I admire? How do I handle stress? How can my personal beliefs help me when I am facing difficult circumstances?
Day 2: Professional development: What skills do I have? How can I market my skills? How do I go about starting a business? Am I ready for an interview?
The results: in pictures...
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| Many of our students don't know how to communicate effectively. The students were given two example scenarios and then presented their own skits about communication. I loved this definition! |
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| Esther, Narsis and Stanley working on a conflict diagram |
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| Bevalyne giving her small group's ideas on how job hunting |
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| Abigail explaining how she's started her own catering business by making pilau. |
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| Nickson sharing his views on ways to build a resume. |
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| Mercy goes for a practice interview with "management" team Martin and Nickson. |
These two days of workshops exceeded my expectations - we had great facilitation and great participation by the students. I hope we can do follow-up individual coaching, particularly around their personal development plans, helping them prepare their resumes and continuing to build their self-confidence.
Highlights from students' feedback included learning how to express themselves, knowing their strengths AND seeing that one doesn't need to be ashamed of a weakness. It can be room to grow.
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| Our future. Note: I'm still working on getting them to smile for the camera... |
