GC Partner, Conscious Connections, ran its Future Leaders Development Programme at a high school in South Africa over the course of five weeks. The goal of this programme is to bridge the gap between the world of work and the world of education, in order to prepare young people for their unpredictable futures.

The Background

There is a lot of research that indicates there is a significant gap between the world of education and the world of work. The future is changing at a rate that education institutions can’t keep up with. Young people are feeling ill-prepared to face their unpredictable futures.

The reality is that many young people leave education with limited knowledge of the skills organisations need, nor a proper understanding of how they can make an impact. Employers continue to struggle to recruit young people who are sufficiently prepared for the world of work.

The Conscious Connections Future Leaders Development Programme is geared to helping young people understand their unique impact and what they will bring to the world, regardless of what the world looks like.

How Young People Index is being used to make impact your future

25 young people (aged 15-17) completed The Young People Index®, before they began the programme, to help determine how they want to make an impact. Conscious Connections took each young person through their profile.

The young people then explored a number of different areas so as to gain a better understanding of how they could maximise their impact in practice as an individual and part of a team. These include:

• Leadership
• Team working and collaboration
• Communication
• Future employability

All the modules were designed to raise levels of self awareness and confidence, which has been shown to help young people make better informed choices about their futures.

The Impact made with The Young People Index

Young people finished the programme saying they have a better understanding of where they can make their biggest impact in any organisation or industry. 78% finished the programme with a better idea of what personal skills to develop. 74% said they know what transferrable skills they have, compared to just 31% at the start of the programme. It left them feeling more confident about where they will add value and how they can stand out in the world.

When a person knows what energises them, where they can make their biggest impact, and what their strengths are – they will confidently know what they bring to the world.

“I really enjoyed the programme. It was very inspiring and educational. I now feel like I can truly do anything. Thank you”

GABI, Aged 15