From September – January The Pledge runs its Employment Readiness Programme followed by Mock Assessment Centres.

The Employment Readiness Programme is aimed at Year 13 students (last year of A Level) who do not want to go to University, undecided and are looking at alternative pathways, mostly apprenticeships or straight into employment. The aim of the programme is to help students understand what employers are looking for and be more employment ready and understand what apprenticeships are.

The Pledge will be running many workshops within several sixth forms and colleges around the North Cheshire East area, highlighting all the opportunities that are available after leaving college and are looking for employers that would like to take part who are actively looking for new talent.

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The following opportunities are available:-

What is an Apprenticeship and Apprentice Q&A

We talk about what apprenticeships there are, the different levels, where you can apply etc. We then look to have current apprentices at the event to do a Q&A session with them about what they do as an apprentice, why they chose to be an apprentice and what advice they would give to budding apprentices. We ask the students if they have any questions they would like to ask. Ideal if you have apprentices that are alumni from any of the schools that we deliver in.

The dates for these are as follows:-

CV Masterclass Workshop with Employer Input

This is a 1 hour session, to get the young people starting to think about the right things to have on their CV, how to set it up, and what employers look for in the CV.  The Pledge team will lead the session but will bring in employers to give their input and advice. This is delivered within the school however if you would prefer, we can beam you in virtually through Microsoft Teams.

The dates for these are as follows:-

CV One to One Sessions with Employers – Virtual

The CV “One to One” session is where young people will be able to have a more personal approach with one employer and a chance for the young person to get feedback on their CV and have the practice of sitting in front of an employer and talk about their experience. This is also a great chance for an employer to meet future talent and to help young people become more employment ready. This is virtual and generally takes 1 hour. We would arrange each employer to have 3 – 4 appointments with young people so they would log into a Teams call at a designated time for their 15 minute CV chat. You would be sent CVs in advance.

The dates for these are as follows:- (Where the session runs over multiple hours or all day, choose a 1 hour slot that works for you)

  Preparing for an Interview & Assessment Centre

This session is led by the Pledge team and asks for employer input in terms of what they are looking for within candidates and any tips and advice. This is delivered within the school however if you would prefer, we can beam you in virtually through Microsoft Teams.

The dates and times are as follow :-

We will also be delivering the above sessions in All Hallows Catholic College and Congleton High School (dates will be sent out early September) 

Mock Assessment Centre  – Shrigley Hall – Friday 14^th January – 09:00-17:00

In January we had around 170 students attend this event who are actively seeking apprenticeships. So, if you are a business who is looking to recruit then this is a great opportunity to cherry pick future talent for your business being part of the employer assessor team to give students the practice of going through an assessment centre and giving feedback. The Assessment centre will be made up of  sessions such as group tasks, interviews and presentations. We are looking for employers and apprentices to help support the event and provide feedback for those attending.

If you’d like to get involved please contact:

James Buckley | Pledge Facilitator
The Pledge

e | james.buckley@youthfed.org
m | 07837 111095

cheshireandwarringtonpledge.com
+44(0)151 357 1971