Future U are looking for schools in Lancashire to take part in a research study looking at the effectiveness of Online vs In-Person outreach activities. During the study, learners will take part in a series of Future U workshops aimed to increase employability skills.
The three sessions are CV Writing, Interview Skills and My Online Brand, which can all be delivered to Year 9 or 10. As with all Future U’s activities they are free and mapped against the Gatsby Benchmarks for Good Career Guidance.
The research itself will be conducted by academics at Future U’s partner institution, the University of Central Lancashire, and will offer an insight into the impact of different methods of delivery on the engagement levels of young people.
Due to the pandemic and associated school closures in 20/21, Future U adapted their usual suite of face-to-face activities to be delivered online.
Emma Deeks, Senior Outreach Officer at Future U, said:
“Adapting our resources for the virtual world was a big challenge given the hands-on nature of our sessions and we felt like learners would miss out on a lot without being able interact with our delivery team directly. However, since schools have re-opened, we have continued to have requests for virtual assemblies and workshops. I think this reflects the opportunities online delivery can offer schools/ colleges to be more inclusive and reach more learners than they could with in-person sessions. We are therefore really interested in learning more about how we can use a blended model to best support learners in Lancashire.”
This research study will look at how the delivery method impacts learners, whether some sessions are more suited to a particular method, and investigate the challenges posed by different delivery types.
Participating schools will receive a package of three employability sessions, which would all be delivered via a different method (either face-to-face, live online or as a pre-recorded video). The feedback from learners after each session would then be analysed to compare and contrast the different experiences, with results being shared with participating schools.
If you are interested in having your learners take part, then please get in touch.