Our ‘Professional’ Teen projects help young (and not so young) people to rehearse and develop capabilities for work-readiness from home. Whether you want to prepare for a work placement or set up as a young creative entrepreneur, the projects support you to get your foot on the first rung of the ladder by building confidence, understanding professional behaviour and re-seeing the skills you already have or can build on. All the Professional Teen projects include design activities for creating a final design product, such as a portfolio or curated online presence, but you do not have to aim for a career in  design to benefit from these projects too.

Now available:

Skills Showcase: Preparing at Home for Work Placement   £14.99 New Year Sale

How can you prepare to undertake a work placement when you have no experience yet? How can you prepare if you cannot get to other places? How can you even know what kinds of capabilities a work placement expects of you? Research has shown that many young people do not make the most of their placement opportunities because their understanding of what they will be expected to do is not ready. In this project those who aim to undertake a work placement, or even find a job, can develop their work-readiness by undertaking a series of skills building activities at home. By rehearsing in a safe space and by having fun, the project has the serious aim of helping you to become more confident and more ‘professional’ by expanding your perceptions of what having work-ready skills means. The design element of the project is a Skills Showcase, or mini portfolio of your capabilities, where you evidence the experience and capabilities you are building up, in a design piece in the format of your choice.

The project is a substantial course (130 pages) and, while it can be dipped into, it is more suitable for working through over a period of time, such as a summer vacation or across a school year. Skills Showcase is aimed at teens who aim to find a work placement, especially, but not only, in the creative industries. However, it is also suitable for anybody who needs a confidence booster before taking a work placement or who is thinking about becoming employed for the first time.

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