Envision’s Community-Apprentice Programme at Colston’s Girls’ School
Envision is a charity that aims to develop young people’s employability by empowering them to tackle real-life social problems.
The Project
Envision works with schools across Bristol to deliver an inter-school competition called – ‘The Community-Apprentice’. Loosely based on the TV series ‘The Apprentice’, teams must develop and, more crucially, demonstrate personal qualities whilst competing to make the biggest positive impact on social problems.
Since September, two teams of young people from Colston’s Girls’ School have been working hard to develop their team working, communication and creativity skills whilst planning a social action project of their choosing. The groups have had to learn to compromise with one another as they agreed on the issue that they wanted to tackle for their project. One of the teams, Team Aspire, became motivated to support young people in their choice of careers. They felt it important to educate their peers about the full range of options available to them and going beyond what are thought of ‘traditional’ routes. Over the past few months they’ve been hard at work developing ideas to make a positive difference and turning them into an action-plan.
Envision’s role is to support the teams in developing key competencies along the way. In the run up to the Christmas break the young people focused on developing their SMART goals; exploring the why, how, and whats of their projects; whilst becoming pitch perfect for the all-important Pitching Challenge.
Competition activity
The team took part in the first inter-school challenge on Wednesday 13th December at Future Inns Hotel in Bristol. For this Pitching Challenge they were asked to present their creative project plans to a panel and ask for an investment of up to £100 for turning their ideas into reality.
Team Aspire were awarded the maximum investment amount. The young people were thrilled to have this expression of belief in what they were doing. They also got some great feedback from the judges on things they can do to make their projects even better.
So where are the teams now?
Team Aspire want to ensure that young people are given all the information necessary when making important decisions about their future career path. They are concerned that non-traditional career routes and qualifications are not given the coverage that they deserve, and that parents and society too often force young people down paths that don’t resonate with their own interests and ambitions. As a result of an offer made to them by one of the dragons at the Pitching Challenge, they spent a day at a creative media training provider called boomsatsuma. While there, they shot and edited a short film; designed a logo and website; and created a set of leaflets that will be used to support their message. With this opportunity, they were able to start making their project a reality and are one step closer to making the difference they want to see in the world.
For more information about Envision and how you might get involved in the work they do, click here.