In this post, I talk about my experience and learnings from volunteering at the MyRoad program run by Beacon foundation.
The program aims at providing career guidance opportunities for high school students in remote schools all around Australia with a focus on female students in particular. The aim of the program as I understand it is to provide exposure to the world of regular jobs; what can be expected in a working environment and to encourage students to continue further education.
I was introduced to the program via my current employer, Readify.
There are a few highlights that I found from my participation.
1. Structured mentor preparation
The mentor training materials itself makes this volunteering program worth attending. The materials provided include very good guidance on working with young children, being mindful of cultural differences, etc.
2. Structured delivery for consistency
The mentors are given a script that they can follow. This is carefully crafted to cover a range of important topics. It enables the mentors to be concentrating better on enabling the discussions.
3. Selection of job types
A good variety of job types are included in the material. There is no skew towards flashy jobs.
4. Purity of concepts
A standout in this regard was discussions around terms like technology - It is not limited to just digital technology but features powerful ones like medical imaging etc..
5. Contemporary topics
Topics about how people deal with a disability at the workplace, social media relevance, etc are covered in a balanced manner.
6. Autonomy
Even though there is a scripted sequence, there is plenty of autonomy for the mentor to change direction and add information based on student needs.
7. Organisation of the events.
The team takes care of Mentors and students alike and provides heaps of support to get things organized and make you feel at ease. I haven't seen such a well thought out program elsewhere.
I would highly encourage anyone with a bit of industry experience to contribute to these much-needed programs to get our future generation ready for their contributions to a working society. I am currently taking a break from the program due to other local school volunteering activities.
Credit: Photo by Nicole Honeywill on Unsplash
The program aims at providing career guidance opportunities for high school students in remote schools all around Australia with a focus on female students in particular. The aim of the program as I understand it is to provide exposure to the world of regular jobs; what can be expected in a working environment and to encourage students to continue further education.I was introduced to the program via my current employer, Readify.
There are a few highlights that I found from my participation.
1. Structured mentor preparation
The mentor training materials itself makes this volunteering program worth attending. The materials provided include very good guidance on working with young children, being mindful of cultural differences, etc.
2. Structured delivery for consistency
The mentors are given a script that they can follow. This is carefully crafted to cover a range of important topics. It enables the mentors to be concentrating better on enabling the discussions.
3. Selection of job types
A good variety of job types are included in the material. There is no skew towards flashy jobs.
4. Purity of concepts
A standout in this regard was discussions around terms like technology - It is not limited to just digital technology but features powerful ones like medical imaging etc..
5. Contemporary topics
Topics about how people deal with a disability at the workplace, social media relevance, etc are covered in a balanced manner.
6. Autonomy
Even though there is a scripted sequence, there is plenty of autonomy for the mentor to change direction and add information based on student needs.
7. Organisation of the events.
The team takes care of Mentors and students alike and provides heaps of support to get things organized and make you feel at ease. I haven't seen such a well thought out program elsewhere.
I would highly encourage anyone with a bit of industry experience to contribute to these much-needed programs to get our future generation ready for their contributions to a working society. I am currently taking a break from the program due to other local school volunteering activities.
Credit: Photo by Nicole Honeywill on Unsplash
Comments