An education platform founded by lawyers and educational experts to upskill young people with a range of critical soft skills believes parents and teachers can play a pivotal role in better preparing children for a looming workplace crisis.
By 2025, a third of the UK workforce will be Gen Z but 41% of business leaders believe this generation is largely unprepared for the workforce.
The Junior Lawyers Club, which provides online confidence-building workshops for children aged nine to 18, says that despite this generation being the UK’s most educated, young people often lack key soft skills. Employers have confirmed the claim in recent surveys conducted by Open University and Institute of Student Employers.
The Junior Lawyers Club, which is marking its 10th anniversary this year, says parents and teachers need to fully recognise the growing importance of critical thinking, communication, and presentation skills, and instil them in children in the years before entering the workplace.
“Softer skills such as empathy, independent thinking and being able to construct persuasive arguments are vital in the modern workplace – they are skills that technology and AI cannot easily replicate. However, an increasing number of employers are reporting a significant shortfall in these skills among those entering the workforce,” said Susanne Tayfoor, a barrister, university law lecturer and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
“Digital transformation and the pandemic have clearly had a seismic impact and young people themselves tell us they desperately want to improve their confidence, communication skills, creativity, and ability to work in a team.
“Schools undoubtedly do their best in preparing young people by providing coaching, mentoring, and encouraging independent thinking – but this is not easy in a large classroom environment. Parents can help build confidence and resilience through celebrating achievements, giving children the autonomy to make decisions and providing positive examples.
“Children need to be encouraged to take responsibility and accountability and this fosters independence. A skilled lawyer can think on their feet, debate, persuade and engage their audience in a high stress environment and at Junior Lawyers Club we teach children these skills.”
Together with a team of legal professionals, trained actors and educational experts, Junior Lawyers Club has supported more a thousand children over the past decade.
Students can join for a single workshop, a block course or can follow a full programme and gain certificates and awards. Junior Lawyers Club is an Approved Activity Provider for the Skills section of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
Featured Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash.