Careers Wales holds 1st Skills Proofing our Young People for the Future Event

On October 19, Dr Sheena Carlisle from the Next Tourism Generation Alliance partner, Cardiff Met, participated in a timely panel discussion on “Skills Proofing our Young People for the Future”. This stakeholder event was organised by Careers Wales, the Careers department of the Welsh Assembly Government in the Department of Education. This inaugural event was opened by Ken Skates, Minister of Economy and Transport, (see above photo) with Kirsty Williams, Minister for Education.  

 

The purpose of the day was to discuss and disseminate information on the new Curriculum 2022 for schools in Wales, which takes a more innovative approach to Careers Guidance and work-related experiences for young people. The aim is to prepare young people for the future through employability strategies and to encourage children to leave school and college with a broader set of transferable skills. These skills include technical and digital skills as well as soft skills such as problem solving, teamwork and enthusiasm for work gained through increased employer engagement and experiences with industry-based scenarios and problems. The new Careers Wales strategy also aims to reduce career stereotyping and provide more informed and realistic career information and advice that reflects new jobs and careers in the industry.

 

During the event, Business Wales, the key training provider for SMEs in Wales, ran a workshop on entrepreneurial skills and successful entrepreneurship. This highlighted the dramatic growth in the number of people in self-employment in Wales: 1 in 7 pursue this career option and 1 in 3 are women. The European Commission Entrepreneurship Competency Framework was recommended as a key tool to support the development of soft skill sets. Employers, government and education stakeholders were encouraged throughout the day to embrace new ways of thinking about skills development and there was consensus amongst participants to commit to changing how transferable skills for careers is delivered.

 

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