Gap year options are becoming a popular choice for young school leavers as a way of building employability skills, gaining experience and giving back to the community.
But what happens to gap year options in 2021?
It's been a monumental year in the lives of our young people who are preparing to see the school gates close for the final time. With mixed feelings, this cohort is stepping into the future and all it will bring in 2021. Some will head directly to a post school option, while others yearn for the freedom of a gap year.
Volunteering
Volunteering is a great way to build skills and establish local contacts and networks, which is ideal for building job connections in the future. Volunteering can be tweeked to suit the interests, availability and location of a young person, and can include anything from supporting a person with a mental illness, working at a food bank to turtle monitoring, being a virtual meeting facilitator or sorting and selling items in a charitable store.
Young Leaders
It’s surprising just how many young people have leadership capabilities and who are just itching to get their hands dirty by working on their true passions! Leadership programs come in many shapes and sizes, and lots of organisations are developing new programs so they can continue to operate effectively and safely in a Covid era. This is the ideal space for young people with technological skills and the ability to think on their feet, innovate and be flexible.
Social Enterprises
These are organisations and businesses which exist for the primary purpose of achieving social change. The social enterprise space has boomed in recent months, and there are lots of new initiatives that have developed to meet community needs. Rather than existing for the benefit of shareholders or owners, these entities exist to generate social outcomes such as feeding community members, providing safe housing, meeting mental health needs and building connections.
The link with employability skills
Employability skills sit alongside technical, hands on skills, and they look great on a resume too! For many young people, a gap year is simply about the ‘what’ of the experiences, but there are also a whole bunch of benefits that have crept up on them without them even really noticing. Some examples of employability skills include the ability to chat with an older adult to mastering an online platform for a remote meeting or developing the framework for a climate change project from the ground up, young people can develop employability skills during their gap year that will, quite literally, set them up for success in the future.
Building volunteering skills
It is important for young people to build their skills as a volunteer. They need to know what to do, how to follow policies and procedures and what they should do if there is a problem or challenge. Some volunteer organisations provide training to their volunteers, and most will have an induction or welcome process which teach new volunteers the ropes.
For young people in life skills and transition programs, volunteering skills and knowledge can be a great introduction to the wonderful world of volunteering that can add real meaning and value to a gap year in 2021.
You can learn more about how to support young people in developing their capacity as a volunteer or gain experience in their local community with this new bundle available on the Teachers Pay Teachers store.
Volunteering Bundle for young people in life skills and transition programs
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