Young Chamber

Young Chamber Programme Suspended Until Schools Return

Following the school closures at the end of March due to the Coronavirus outbreak, Dorset Chamber’s Young Chamber programme has been suspended until schools in Dorset are able to return.

While it was felt some elements of the Young Chamber programme could be delivered remotely, some of the most valuable business volunteer interaction relies on face-to-face engagement such as supporting mock interviews or taking part in speed networking. Understandably, these activities are not viable at this time.

Joan Senior, Young Chamber Coordinator said: “It is right that we have suspended the programme and we have written to our sponsors to let them know. We will be resuming the programme as soon as we know the schools are returning.”

In 2018 the Government made careers support in schools part the Ofsted requirement. As part of Dorset Chamber’s 700+ business strong community, the dedicated role of the Young Chamber Coordinator is valued by schools as well as organisations involved in the delivery of careers and employability skills education. Bringing the world of work into the classroom plays a central role in this careers support, as laid out in the Gatsby Benchmarks framework by which schools are assessed; Young Chamber helps by mobilising volunteers to participate in a wide range of activities for students from Year 7 to Year 13.

Launched in 2016, Young Chamber delivers its own employability and careers support programme, whilst also working collaboratively to support the initiatives of other organisations

When you’re running your own business, we believe that you should concentrate on what you do best – and that’s managing the business.

that rely on real people sharing their careers paths, job roles and experiences in schools. Young Chamber also supports a variety of larger county-wide initiatives including Dorset Council’s Big Bang STEM fairs, Careers and Enterprise Company Dorset’s biannual Careers and Apprenticeships Show, Southern University Network events and more.

Joan adds: “Young Chamber is still very much a part of the Collaboration for Careers Dorset (#C4DC) group which regularly brings key organisations together to share best practice, support each other’s events, develop new programmes in response to school needs and avoid duplication so students get the best support.

“We believe Dorset is the only county where the local authorities, the Careers and Enterprise Company, Dorset Chamber, Dorset Careers Hub, Dorset LEP, Young Enterprise, Young Apprenticeship Ambassador Network and Young Chamber all work collaboratively in this way. We look forward to supporting schools with their careers programmes across all year groups when they return, especially those focusing on next year’s school leavers who may have missed out on Year 10 mock interviews and preparations during this year’s summer term.”