"Show you can collaborate, influence and compromise" TOTALjobs

According to CBI (The UK's leading business lobbying organisation), teamwork is one of the most sought-after skills that employers look for. That makes it a high priority!

This is one of the greatest ways in which Firm Foundations can help anyone. Teamwork. When you join the Firm Foundations programme you immediately become part of a large, vibrant team and you live with many of them for a year. You gain an insight in to how people work - and not just when they have to be 'professional', but also how to lead and influence people behind the scenes.

You may not be a natural team player. That's OK. You can - like all else - learn to develop your teamwork skills. Here's a few recommendations.

1. Don't Always Talk
Let others lead sometimes, take a step back. If you want to go into leadership and management this will be a vital step in encouraging your team to 'step up to the plate'.

2. Put Yourself Forward
This may seem contradictory to the first point, but it's not. There are times to speak and to be silent. But when opportunity presents itself to take your place in the team, be pro-active, volunteer. Be keen. Be the 'teachers pet'. Remember, you're not in school anymore!

3. Respect Others
In a team you won't always get on. You will disagree. Bob will annoy you. Alex with be annoyed by you. You'll make Sam cry. But Lyla will reduce you to tears too. This is just part of being a team. But try and keep you cool. Don't always correct people, don't always leave people on their own. Be supportive, be a team player!

If you're interested in developing your team work skills, why not consider our gap year training programme, Firm Foundations? Go to www.ff-training.org.uk for more information.

Employability Boost: Enterprise Skills

"Using your initiative, being proactive and getting things done without waiting for someone else to tell you to: that's enterprising" TOTALjobs

Employers are looking for the leaders of tomorrow. And you often know a leader by their natural tendencies. You will find most leaders are not defined by whether or not they are an extrovert, introvert, vision-casting, in-the-detail type of person. It's their enterprising nature that sets them apart. Managers want you to assume responsibility, show initiative etc not be spoon-fed tasks!

On our Firm Foundations instructor training scheme (see www.ff-training.org.uk) we always encourage enterprise! Whether it's as simple as tweaking an archery session, suggesting new income streams, encouraging a behind-the-scenes social day for the team on a day off - it all shows enterprise. It all shows intent. And it is those people who we really see staying with us for the long term.

With this in mind, here are a few tips to make yourself more enterprising without trying too hard:

1. Speak Up!
For most of us there are daily opportunities to share our opinions and ideas - even if they aren't asked for. Do it politely, do it well, but suggest something new. Something exciting. Something that is a bit of a risk, but if it pulls of.... well! You'll find people will respond to this positively or negatively. But it doesn't matter. It shows you're keen and it shows you're thinking about the business!

2. Don't Wait For Permission
Let's start with a warning here. Don't over-extend what is meant by this! But sometimes your line manager doesn't need to know every detail before making every decision. Make a small decision here or there. Innovate something, just a little! Give it a go. Often you won't receive praise for this - usually the line manager won't even notice. But give it a go!

3. Invest in your Personal Development
Get a bit of vocational training. Take an extra qualification. Give a bit of extra time to practicing. One of things things I admire most about David Beckham is how much other footballers refer to the extra hours he used to put in on the training ground - and it paid off.... clearly! Give a bit more time to become more competent, more skillful. And then gently, humbly, politely begin to give positive input in the workplace.

If you're interested in developing the 'enterprising-you', why not take a year out with us here at Action Centres UK? For more information see www.ff-training.org.uk.

Employability Boost: Time Managment

"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." - William Penn

Time management is in many ways the pre-requisite of maintaining any job or career. To a measure it is the 'least that is expected'. Yet so many people struggle with time management, both in work and out of work. They struggle to 'balance' time between work, home and rest.

We live in a world that is very busy and requires flexibility. Particularly if you're 35 or younger you may find this to feel very true. The internet has sped everything up, and we're a mobile, doing-on-the-go, never quiet, drink a Red Bull, carry on, sleep in at the weekends kind of society. But this lack of routine can make it difficult to manage time well. And certainly, it makes it difficult to make the MOST of your time.

Let me encourage you to begin to establish some routine in life. It will be good for you! Maybe get up 15 minutes earlier and be in bed by 'X:00pm'. You won't always stick to it - and that is not the point, but good rest and routine will help level out life for you!

Firm Foundations does place you into routine. You have shifts, you have training, you have time off. If you're someone who struggles to get to work or lectures or classes on time, maybe this would be a great gap year for you. Come and establish some great routine and learn excellent time management. It will benefit you in the long term!

Enough sales pitch. Here are a few things you can do right now to improve your time management:

1. Set Goals/Prioritise: What am I about? By doing this you avoid doing stuff that is not-so-important and clear your diary just a little more.

2. Plan Ahead: Not all of us are in the habit of keeping a diary anymore. Plan down-time and 'just-in-case' time. Plan in a little more planning and preparation time, so that when you are busy, you're on form, not just scraping by or 'winging it'. My pastor used to refer to this as 'flying by the seat of your pants'.

3. Set Deadlines: In school, deadlines are a pain. Pressure's on. But I heard this recently. The reason teacher's set deadlines is that they know that people wouldn't get things done without them. Starting a new project? Set a deadline and keep to it. I guarantee that even in your miss it slightly, your project will be done much quicker than without it!

4. Rest Well: Being rested means you perform better. Simple. True. And drink more water and eat less take away!

5. Leave a Bit Earlier: You have a meeting at 9.00am. Don't leave for it at 9.00am. Or even 8.50am for that matter. Be out the door - early is better than late.

For more information about our gap year programme and to apply visit www.ff-training.org.uk.

Employability Boost: Problem Solving

"Line managers don't like hiring graduates who will come running every time they're out of their depth. If you can take the pressure, make sense of your situation and step up with a solution, you'll stand a better chance" TOTALjobs (article 'Skills and Competencies for Graduates')

Taking initiative. Thinking on the job. Two vital skills for anyone who wants to progress in their career. Making right decisions - also highly important! No matter where you work - whether it's in retail, on the shop floor, in a nice spacious office overlooking Central London - you're not going to progress without showing initiative and overcoming problems.

So what is involved in taking initiative and making a good decision? I've picked on three things (though there are probably hundreds of factors):

1. Confidence in what you are doing.
2. Ability to think about the consequences of a decision.
3. Ability to face risk.

1. Confidence in what you are doing:

Let's be honest, even in your first day in a new job you're going to have to take decisions for yourself. But if you're eager to learn you will quickly grow confident in what you are doing. For this very reason we try to get our trainee instructors qualified in various disciplines - kayaking, climbing, archery etc - in the first weeks of our training programme. Why? So that when a problem arises they are equipped to overcome it. We build your confidence and encourage you to actively problem solve on the job - without this as an outdoor instructor you are going to struggle.

2. Ability to think about the consequences of a decision:

Every decision you make will have consequences. And there is a piece of exact science here - you will not get every decision you make in life right. But if you have the ability to see the consequences of your decision before you implement it, it will help a lot! Working a high ropes course with a child who is stuck brings this home. 

Let's set the scene: You're running a high ropes course session with a group of year three students. It is particularly windy. A child half way up Jacob's Ladder decides they can go no further, and because of the wind they are clinging on for dear life - not releasing themselves from the rung so that they can be lowered down safely. There's a problem here, isn't there? What does that mean? Decision time. How to you persuade them to come down? Do they need to be rescued? Can the other young people encourage them? What do you do?

These kind of situations happen regularly, and you learn how to quickly survey a situation and make a judgment call that will definitely have consequences. Don't worry - we work on point one - we teach you the skills to know what's dangerous and not!

3. Ability to Face Risk.

It is my suspicion that one of the main reasons that many people don't take initiative and become 'problem solvers' is fear that their decision will go wrong. We hope to instill in people that "mistakes will happen" - but what is important is that you learn from them. If you don't face risk you may never do anything! One of the key things I learned in doing hundreds of risk assessments over the year is this: Everything has a risk.

Have you ever thought about a car? Travelling at 70mph on a motorway, suspended inches above a hard, rough surface and the only thing between you and almost certain death? Various pieces of metal. Everyday people die on our roads. Yet it doesn't stop us getting in a car. Why? Because the risk is managed. If you learn to be confident in your field, grow in you ability and learn to make wise decisions, guess what? Your risk is 'managed' well.

"Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing."
Warren Buffett

If you want to learn how to be a better problem solver, come and spend a year with us. Find out more and apply online at www.ff-training.org.uk.

Tom Nicholson
Activity Trainee Recruitment Officer @ Action Centres UK.

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Intro to our 'Employability Boost' Series

Earlier this year I read a great article by TARGETjobs on a series of characteristics that potential employers are really keen to find in a new employee. The article can be found here. Despite the fact that the article in aimed at university graduates, it is clear that these 'skill and competencies' are vital for anyone hoping to get a job or progress in their career.

At Action Centres UK we genuinely believe our training gap year 'Firm Foundations' will equip you with many of these skills and competencies - and where it doesn't will give you the skill to grow and develop yourself.

In a series of brief posts we're going to explore just how useful our gap year is to boosting your CV, improving your work character and in what ways it readies you for employment now or after university.

Enjoy!

Tom Nicholson
Activity Trainee Recruitment Officer @ Action Centres UK.

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