A Start in Life scholarship
07 November 23
An excellent start to A Start in Life’s new scholarship!
A Start in Life’s Career and Skills Development Scholarship focuses on broadening students’ career horizons and building essential skills for modern careers.
You learn a lot in school, but it can’t cover everything! Schools teach vital academic knowledge, but often don’t focus on all the skills that modern employers are looking for today. Additional time, assistance and resources are also required to help students discover the career options available and most suitable to them.
Students collaborated in small groups to communicate why a specific sport should be included in the Olympics. This group of students chose cricket!
This new scholarship kicked off with a bang as a small group of Year 9 students from a diversity of schools and backgrounds came together to attend the first workshops. The team at A Start in Life are delighted with what the students have already gained, as well as their dedication and self-awareness.
Beginning with Communication and Collaboration, this series of workshops focuses on developing 21st Century skills and behaviours vital to students’ future careers.
During these workshops, students not only learnt about communication and collaboration, but practiced using those skills in role plays, group discussions and problem solving activities. These aspirational students were encouraged to be curious and ask questions, step outside their comfort zone and consider how they’d like to grow.
They learnt the value of non-verbal communication as they acted out emotions. They analysed body language and facial expressions. They learnt techniques to overcome communication difficulties. They explored the importance of setting expectations before collaborating, and then practiced collaborating to find solutions to problems. They came to understand that conflict is naturally bound to occur, but ‘it’s how we react or solve the problem that matters’ (Vee, 14 years old).
A brainstorm from one group of students exploring various blocks and solutions to collaborating at school.
Our one-on-one monthly Career Coaching sessions are also underway, where students are encouraged to explore and discover their innate strengths, skills and values, and how they may relate to possible careers. We look forward to telling you more about these soon!