Online / Virtual Engagement
Virtual engagement activities are gaining importance, and are considered a useful complement to face-to-face activities.
The world is becoming increasingly digitalized and different online tools now allow us to connect with the young people more easily. The COVID-19 pandemic in particular has shown us the added value various online tools can bring as they have made it possible to stay connected under challenging circumstances.
By connecting with young people online, we can encourage the development of important technical skills. The ability to operate different virtual communication tools will be a huge benefit for their future competitiveness on the job market.
Different supporting documents on the topic of virutal engagement can be found here: List of Documents - Virtual Engagement.
Below, we will take a look at some of the dedicated platforms and tools used within GoTeach for the purposes of virtual engagement:
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YouthLinks Platform
YouthLinks – is an initiative of SOS Children’s Villages that seeks to promote the use of technological tools, aiming to foster and develop the impact of employability programs within YouthCan!
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YouthLinks is mainly hosted on Workplace – a private social network hosted by Facebook. The platform is accessible via a PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone and allows young people to connect with corporate volunteers and SOS staff to develop their employability prospects. The platform offers three main options:
- Online Mentoring – The platform offers the opportunity to host one-to-one and group mentoring sessions (video-chat function available). Pre-prepared mentoring content is also available:
- Who am I? (Self-awareness, personal & professional awareness)
- Getting a job (Getting ready to apply for a job)
- Other topics are in development currently
Each package consists of 6-8 sessions, lasting between 60 and 90 minutes. Currently, they are available in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. Further language versions are in development. Access the mentoring content here.
- Virtual courses – Skills training session recorded and posted on YouthLinks for young people to access and learn from e.g. budgeting; how to write a CV
- Virtual community - Engaging respectively as teams (mentors, young people, SOS staff)
Volunteer Vision
Volunteer Vision – is a digital platform providing mentoring solutions that maximize collaborative learning, employee engagement and social impact.
Corporate volunteers serve as mentors. There are different predefined sessions, promoting skills development targeted at improving the employability of mentees. For example, the following content is covered:
- Motivating yourself
- Identifying your skills
- Practicing an interview with a simulated CV
- Learning how to communicate at work
- Makping your own development plan
Virtual engagement also means that mentors can get creative. There are many options to develop content that may be used for virtual interaction. Here are some examples:
- (Online site visits (recorded video) - Provide an immersive and interactive site visit for local young people/students. Young people gain valuable insights into how the logistics industry works and meet colleagues with a range of different roles and career paths.) # Employees 2+ Time commitment 3-4 hours
- Online quiz about DPDHL for students with i.e. kahoot, films about job/profiles. Create a different quiz session that could be played either within the classes or virtually. 2h preparation 1h to play.
- Help schools and teachers to establish a digital format for virtual learning. Foster exchange with school representatives and use our know-how to help them through the digital jungle. Additional country-specific screening of digital solutions and preparation of a work shop 1 – 2 days
Visit the Volunteer Vision homepage here.
| Chapter lead | Susanne Novotny |
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