Four of our employees assisted school staff in facilitating a Skills Development Day at Banchory Academy in conjunction with DYW North (Developing the Young Workforce), to guide pupil groups through activities and help them focus on the skills they are using and developing, addressing team working together with communication, creativity, listening, and problem-solving skills.
ACTIVITIES
Spaghetti/Cup Towers
The pupils worked together to build the tallest tower that can support something on top, using the resources given. They reviewed how they got on before being challenged with finding a solution to stack cups without touching them, only using the resources they are provided with, e.g. elastic bands, string.
Road Race
The pupils worked in teams to build a road for a toy car using only the provided materials (card, elastic bands, strip of tape, paper clips, straws and a plastic cup). The toy car was required to move without any contact or pushing and the car that travelled the furthest was the winner.
Break out Rooms
The group needed to work together to solve the puzzles and complete several activities in order to ‘break out’ of the room. The objective was to ensure they persevered if they didn’t solve the puzzles or complete the tasks correctly.
It was noted, our assistants found this the most difficult activity!!
Q&A
The day finished with an informal Q & A session. This provided a great opportunity for the pupils to explore the personal career journey of our panel, including an apprentice from leaving school, the pupils learned how skills and careers were developed, hopefully inspiring them to consider a career in the construction industry.
Thank you to our volunteers for giving up your time to assist. Hopefully the pupils will benefit from identifying the skills needed and hearing about the different career paths and experiences in the construction industry.
