Team Programme Business Volunteer (Petty Pool Vocational College Northwich)

Young Enterprise’s Team Programme is an enterprise journey for students who have mild to moderate learning difficulties. Designed to aid young people’s transition from education into independent living and employment, the programme develops confidence and life skills through working as a team to set up and run an enterprise.

This hands-on and highly impactful role involves mentoring and encouraging students with learning disabilities and other complex needs to face the challenges of running a business, and learn critical life skills, in a safe space.

Team Programme Volunteers are primarily based within schools/ colleges supporting a group of students with learning disabilities. They will volunteer alongside school staff to ensure the young people are able to flourish. Young people particularly value volunteers who can attend in person as this support their learning and development of social skills.

The time commitment can be variable depending on the particular needs of the group. At most this will involve around one hour per week, attending weekly company meetings throughout the school academic year, however in some cases may be less frequent than this.

What you will be doing

• Coaching, mentoring, and positively supporting young people with learning disabilities and autism through their business adventure
• Attending regular company meetings within the school environment
• Liaising closely with the lead teacher to achieve the best outcomes for young people

The skills you need

• Patient, encouraging and open-minded
• Open to learning new things, to challenge and in turn be challenged
• Comfortable in the presence of young people with learning disabilities (but no specific experience is necessary)
• Able to commit to attending regular face to face student company meetings within a school . Continuity for this group of young people is particularly important
• Able to communicate clearly and directly with young people with learning disabilities, who may also have communication difficulties
• A creative thinker, able to support young people experiencing additional barriers to overcome challenges

What's in it for you

• Satisfaction of supporting young people to grow in confidence, learn new skills and achieve their potential
• Develop your professional skills in mentoring, facilitation and communication
• Volunteering alongside a group of young people will challenge you to think differently and approach problems from a new perspective