Bringing real life work skills to education

Student Agency/ communications

Why the need?

Let's let the NSW Chamber of Commerce tell us..."The NSW Business Chamber has called for an overhaul of the school education system in response to employer concerns that students are not being prepared well enough to tackle the modern workplace." The article goes on to say, "Chief executive Stephen Cartwright said his organisation's member businesses are concerned a significant proportion of young people leaving school need to be better equipped to avoid being left behind. He said there were "serious signs" that "we must act now to transform and modernise our school education system". "Otherwise, we risk leaving our next generation behind and our economy in jeopardy," he said. Source Fairfax Media.

Student's angst or struggle is, "what do I do with my life when I leave high school?" "What will I study in Uni?" This programs help solve that problem.

Solution

We wanted to put our hand to the plough to help solve this problem.

Since we are a strategic marketing and branding company how can we do our part to help? We scratched our heads. Solution...Why not bring a communications learning package to interested year 8/9 students so they can gain real life industry experience from industry experts. By year 10 they are actively creating great content for the marketing team. 

The idea has a double benefit. It provides real-on-the job experience to students and it helps the over stretched marketing team create content for their social marketing efforts. And not just content, but great content learned from their on-the-job time as part of the "Student Agency".

Other key benefits for the student

• real world industry led experience for students
• school uses own students to market school
• better decision making for HSC, SACE, VCE or WACE subjects
• better life choice for University degree pathway
• stronger real life skills for work 
• learn to work as part of a team

Key takeaways

• Who - Year 8/9 Students with a communications interest
• What - communications skills to industry standards for social content creation
  • How to create compelling Social Media content
    • Planning, writing a brief, understanding the client, developing the message
    • Scripting, pre-production
    • Editing and approvals
    • Promotion, distribution, PR and publicity
  • Working as a team to generate fantastic posts, images and videos to communicate the schools mission, events and activities.
  • The possibilities with social media and how campaigns work
  • Assessing how our movements on social media can help us to create a personal or community brand
  • How to work to deadlines and organise information for a digital platform
  • Reading the metrics
  • Protection and regulation
• Where - at school either face-to-face and online via conferencing
• When - lunchtime with school coordinator or representative
• Why - Education needs real life industry experience for students and parents want tools to help their child find their life calling

Mr Cartwright concludes with this perspective from the paper Old School New School-Report, "The importance of our education system in achieving positive economic and social outcomes cannot be overstated. Yet a system designed for the industrial era struggles to meet the needs of students in the 21st century. Transformation is overdue."

This program helps meet the needs of students for the 21st century.

Troy Jones
Educatiion: Flinders University
, 
Bachelor of Economics - Law ,
1994 – 1999

Founder, The Real Men Project, Aug 2014 – Present

Chairperson, Daystar Foundation Australia, Jun 2019 – Present, Empowering people in Western Sydney through education and connection.

Joe Brooks
Educatiion: Maryland Institute College of Art, BFA Visual Communications
Certificate Four in Training and Assesment
Creative director, JWB&CO, 1995- present
Swinburne University of Technoloty, sessional lecturer March 2018 - present

It's Lit, A guide to what teens think is cool

From our friends at Google

As marketing professionals with limited time it is vital to understand your audience/s. With that in mind let's have a look at one key audience which gets overlooked, teens. Today students have a far greater say in the purchasing decision of education then they did say when we were like them. One key point is we can never lose sight of who our audience is. If we do we will never engage with them. The metrics around this inform the language we use and the creative we present.

Some key facts

Gen Z [ Ages 6-23] ..."this group is ambitious, engaged, and feel like they can change the world. For Generation Z, what’s cool is also a representation of their values, their expectations of themselves, their peers, and the brands they hold in the highest regard."

Key takeaways for you

What's Gen z thinks is cool?

Teens feel something is cool if it’s unique, impressive, interesting, amazing or awesome. Something becomes “cool” when it brings joy or happiness or is unique enough to stand out from everything.

Magenta = girls,

Green = boys

Gen z
Social media is for consuming and connecting, not sharing.

Snapchat, and Instagram are the coolest platforms. Facebook is still a daily habit for most teens for consumption and stalking, but they rarely post and it’s not seen as cool.

What about Gen z smartphone ownership

Mobile still king. Smartphones, all-things iOS, and VR/Augmented Reality are the coolest things in tech.

Facts and figures based on US findings from the article It's Lit, A guide to what teens think is cool.