Graduates can get an edge over other candidates by completing schemes such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Noella Pio Kivlehan reports
Such is the competition for jobs today, that academic achievements alone will not make graduates stand out to employers. When considering CVs, some use a wider remit to find out more about a candidate’s personality.
Research carried out by Ratcliffe Hall on behalf of the United Learning Trust and involving 12% of all UK employers across both the public and private sector, found that the key determinants for employee selection were leadership and teamwork skills, the ability to communicate and self-motivate, confidence and the ability to learn.
Among the many different organisations in the UK promoting these skills, one of the most established is the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
Martyn Chase, DTZ’s European retail sector head, believes that a scheme like DofE is the perfect way to highlight a person’s strength and determination.
Participants, aged between 14 and 25, complete a range of activities to achieve a Bronze, Silver or a sought-after Gold Award, which takes an average of 18 months to complete.
Chase says: “When you meet young people coming out of university, they will have a strong message about their academic qualifications and perhaps a strong sports base, but there is no sense of what their personality or drive is like.
“Completing the DofE shows that they have made themselves get involved in different activities. These are all character-building and what I like about DofE is that people have to commit themselves to it for 18 months. As well as commitment, it shows application and loyalty. For me, having the award on a CV sets people apart. It translates into how they will be as members of a company.”
Chase, who achieved a Gold Award in 1972, is not alone in his beliefs. Capital & Counties has recently signed up as a partner to the charity, to support its work with young people. Other partners include British Gas, Tesco, Amey, ScotRail, Lloyds Banking Group and VINCI. There is also interest from the Co-operative.
Susan Anderson, director of public services and skills at CBI, says: “Employers place great value on employability skills – a broad range of abilities including business awareness, problem solving and self-management.
“These skills can be applied in any workplace and help employees and businesses adapt and prosper in a continually changing world. DofE’s focus on leadership, teamwork, communication and self-motivation make it an effective way for employers to ensure their staff develop this important set of skills.”
Paul Baker, group property director at Lloyds Banking Group, says his firm introduced DofE’s Gold Award four years ago to help to develop its younger workforce and provide them with key skills that would allow them to flourish in the workplace.
He says: “The programme helps us retain our staff and, in turn, we have a stronger and more skilled workforce. The greatest thing for me is seeing that two-thirds of the people who we have put through DofE have been promoted as a direct result of the new skills and confidence they have gained.”
Colin Jellicoe, HR director at VINCI Construction UK, agrees. He says: “As part of our community and employee engagement initiative, Stand Out! Make a Difference, we decided to partner Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, delivering its unique learning and development programme to our young staff.”
Jellicoe says VINCI Construction believes in the importance of investing in its staff, and providing them with valuable experience of leadership, team working and contributing to the community. He adds: “These skills reflect our core values and help develop our young workforce, which is key to our success.”
EG is hosting a breakfast on 27 January with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to promote its programme to the property industry
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
Set up in 1956, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for Boys was established and chaired by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip. Sir (later Lord) John Hunt was appointed director.
The programme consists of four sections: rescue and public service; expeditions; pursuits and projects; and fitness.
By 1960, 35,000 boys and 7,000 girls were participating. Six years later, three area and three regional offices had been established in the UK, with DofE operating in 22 countries.
In 1987, the number of those who had participated in the DofE programme hit 1m and the number of Gold Awards presented reached 100,000.
In 2007, more than 275,000 young people were taking part in DofE programmes at any one time in the UK.
In 2008, the charity developed and launched a new look and feel.
The number of those participating, and the number of awards achieved, continues to rise year-on-year.
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and employers
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has two major initiatives for employers to help them develop their staff and employ better people.
Developing staff
It has a workplace (vocational) DofE called DofE Business and assists companies that run it for their staff.
Employing better people
DofE is about helping young people develop the characteristics and attitudes that employers value, which will ultimately make them employable. This year, DofE is launching a corporate initiative to promote employers that value its network of 300,000 young people.
DofE hopes that these will raise the profile of the employers that support the organisation, reinforce the value and relevance of DofE, as well as encourage more young people to complete their award. Tesco, Lloyds Banking Group, Serco, British Gas and ScottishPower have already expressed interest in taking part.
For more information: www.dofe.org
