My World of Work Ambassadors Programme
My World of Work’ Ambassadors programme is a free, easy-to-run programme with ready-made resources that provides career education benefits for pupils, teachers, parents, carers and the wider school community.
Ambassadors act as champions for Skills Development Scotland’s award-winning career information and advice web service My World of Work, helping spread the word of the support it offers to their friends, fellow pupils, teachers, parents and carers.
If you haven’t used My World of Work before, it’s a fantastic resource, packed with tools, advice and information empowering users to make informed, confident career decisions. My World of Work complements the Career Management Skills framework and Career Education Standard. There are also dedicated partner and parent sections equipping teachers, parents and carers with resources, information and advice to support young people with career decisions.
Initially trialled with a number of schools as a pilot project in 2014, the programme has developed in collaboration with teachers and pupils and is now available to all secondary schools.
The benefits for pupils
By volunteering to be an Ambassador, pupils gain valuable experience and skills that are transferable to the world of work.
They’ll improve at problem solving, taking the lead, planning and organising, working as part of a team, communicating with people and of course, gaining a deeper understanding of their own career management skills.
Their experiences can be used to contribute to wider achievement awards, such as the Duke of Edinburgh Awards as well as adding weight to profiles, CVs and UCAS applications.
We all know how important that real life experience can be, and the advantage it offers young people.
You only have to read the story of one of our first Ambassadors Michael Clark, whose experiences as part of the programme helped him to land a Digital Marketing Modern Apprenticeship.
He was told during his interview for the job that the experience he gained as an Ambassador ‘stuck out’ giving him ‘amazing’ additions to his CV.
The benefits of this programme aren’t restricted to pupils though; teachers and the wider school community also stand to gain.
The benefits for your school
Ambassadors are in-house experts on My World of Work.
They’re a resource for teachers, other pupils, parents, carers and support staff to get help making the most of the web service.
By promoting My World of Work and career management skills across the whole school, Ambassadors also contribute towards the delivery of national frameworks Developing the Young Workforce, the Career Education Standard, How Good is Our School 4 and of course, Curriculum for Excellence.
It also offers schools the chance to showcase pupil achievements in newsletters, on social media, in local media and at awards ceremonies.
The benefits for teachers
The programme also supports the continuing professional development of teachers.
The lead teacher or teachers can raise their profile inside and outside of school, as well as improve their networks, depending on the types of events that are organised.
It also offers the opportunity to gain experience outside of subject area expertise, particularly in leadership, project management, communication and the delivery of events.
Getting started
Teachers can find all the resources for the My World of Work Ambassadors programme in their My World of Work account as long as they are registered as a partner.
The scale of the programme can be adapted to suit individual schools and resources, and we’re already seeing some great examples of best practice.
At St Paul’s RC Academy in Dundee, Ambassadors are supporting S1 pupils after their move from primary school to create their own My World of Work accounts, and promoting the career education tools for primary 5 to 7 pupils with cluster primary schools.
The principle teacher responsible for Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) at St Andrews & St Brides High School in South Lanarkshire is ensuring succession management by running small groups of Ambassadors across the senior phase, ensuring expertise is retained as part of the culture of learning.
At Alva Academy in Clackmannanshire, the intention is to have one ‘lead’ Ambassador and up to 20 ‘subject’ Ambassadors to help link faculties and subjects directly to the extensive resources within My World of Work.
We also have a number of schools who prefer to start off ‘small’ with just a couple of Ambassadors to promote My World of Work at parents’ events. The important thing is that the programme works for the school and its pupils.
If you have questions about getting started or want to find out more please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me on shirley.davison@sds.co.uk”
