The latest series of Career WorkOut sessions at YMCA Milton Keynes, a project called ‘Talking Myself Into Work’, has successfully followed the ‘Action Learning for Employment’ pilot last summer.
Between November 2017 and March 2018, 31 YMCA residents participated in 373 face-to-face conversations with 65 guests from the world of work (also with 60 secondary school pupils in a Career WorkOut session at Walton High). 10 progressed to employment, while 5 progressed to Education, Training or Volunteering. For a programme intended for 18 beneficiaries, the success rate is 15/18 = 83% rate of progression to a positive destination (compared with target of 40%).
“It’s helped me talk more confidently and ask better questions than I could’ve before,” said Clint Okuribido, a 21-year-old resident who has already met and interviewed 41 different work guests over nine one-hour sessions. “I’ve been through a lot recently but meeting all these people has helped me to think more clearly about what I want.”
A guest said: “For myself I learned that I need to speed up and get less detailed with the small amount of time available in a short conversation.
“The very different backgrounds of the volunteers, with the different skills they bring to the table, seems like it gave the residents a breadth of ideas and help.”
Pictured above are residents and guests on the last day of the programme (photo by Jane Russell).
If you represent a local company interested in sponsoring a series of Career WorkOut sessions for YMCA residents (see benefits), please contact Tom Bulman asap, tom.bulman@worktree2.prominenthosting.com, tel 07962 838685.
