Employability in the Community Sector - Assignment Example

Topic: - Employability in the Community Sector Using the National Standards for Community Development and recommended texts, outline the skills and knowledge you need to be a successful community worker. Using examples from your own work and/or academic experience, critically reflect on some situations where you successfully used these skills and knowledge (1000 words) Community development practitioners work with community groups that bring social change and improve the quality of life. They empower individuals, families, or the whole community by identifying their needs, opportunities, and responsibilities. They encourage collective or group participation in projects by planning for appropriate action that can produce the necessary results. Community workers act as a link between the community and the local government (Gilchrist and Taylor, 2011, 50). They engage in projects that address inequality, marginalization, and target communities that are culturally, economically, or geographically disadvantaged. They help the communities identify the issues affecting their lives and participate in activities that improve or address these issues. This requires a range of knowledge and skills that help the practitioner improve the condition of the community. A SMART one page plan to develop and obtain these knowledge and skills Networking requires strong communication skills and team-working skills. Networking requires a good set u pan that will ensure there is efficient communication between the employee and other people in the working station. A good community worker will develop a networking plan that will include other human factors in their working station. This includes top management team and the public. However, the public should form the majority of the networking team since the tasks stipulated for community workers in involves aims and objective that please and satisfy the public. In networking the employee should be keen in the quality and appropriateness of the information they acquire. To ensure the two qualities, the employees should use credible sources and have proper channels that would help them come up with right and proper information. The inclusion of group work and sessions also goes a long way in ensuring networking is achieved effectively. The employee must be co-operative, assertive, persuasive, responsible, and speak clearly to members of the group. Good presentation involves entertainment as well as conveying information. Prioritization requires good decision making since it involves overlooking some activities to give preference to others with fresh and new activities. Effective prioritization calls for accurate decision making abilities that produce the required results by addressing the key areas efficiently. While arguing a case, an employer should be able to accept the outcome their decision and take responsibility of any decision they make regarding a case. In developing case arguing skills, an employer should refer to previous cases with related content. From the previous cases they should analyze the outcome of the decision and how well it fits in the current situation. The employer should also have an open mind while accepting criticism and corrections. This provides a room for change and improving skills in arguing a case. In an arguing a case there should be an administrative body or figure who controls the argument. The leader should provide guideline sand use expertise in making decision regarding the process of arguing out the case. Section 1 Community development is a value based process aiming at addressing power imbalances in order to create change on social justice, equality, and inclusion (Gilchrist and Taylor, 2011, 60). Community workers should have knowledge of the values and processes on which community development is based. Different communities have varying historical and national values. These values encourage the people to be more responsible when tackling common issue and support the actions decided upon. The community worker should widen the horizon of the people by encouraging them to make creative decisions and take responsibilities when tackling collective situations (Gilchrist and Taylor, 2011, 76), that is, the worker should encourage creativity when dealing with communal activities. This should happen while respecting the autonomy and independence of the community groups and interests. Existing contacts and interactions between different groups in a neighborhood are governed by community values. For example, when developing a work plan for the community the worker is supposed to understand the rights and responsibilities of community members. This eliminates conflict between community values and the proposed work plan. Understanding the values of the community can ease planning and duty sharing (National Occupation Standards 2006, 20). A community development practitioner should understand the impact of social, economic, and environmental changes in the community. These changes require relevant legislations and policies and the practitioner should understand their effects. A practitioner should understand methods and styles of engaging people, organizations and groups in a community and have skills necessary for creating networks. Informal networks and organizational forums provide numerous contacts that can be developed and sustained to benefit the communities (National Occupation Standards 2006, 22). The practitioner should understand the social, economic, and environmental impacts of these contacts. Linking professionals together requires community research in order to determine the viability and impacts of the network. A practitioner must have the ability to convince and support community members to participate in a community research. For example, the introduction of a community health center affects the social and health system in the community. Understanding the social, economic, and environmental impacts of contacts and networks will improve the practitioner’s persuasive power and ability to conduct research. Community Development practitioners should have the skill of mobilizing group work and collective action. Communities must work collectively so that they can achieve their aims and influence the decisions that can affect them. This requires organizational skills that can effectively manage the activities of the mobilized groups (Henderson 2010, 30). Conflicts may arise in collective actions and the practitioner must have the ability to resolve the conflict without discrimination. The organization skills should create structures necessary for encouraging open debate and encourage the participants to remain accountable for the project. Community development projects usually require group participation. For example, a water treatment plant project should involve all the groups within the community utilizing the project. Therefore, the practitioner should organize group activities that encourage equality in the project. The groups should have equal opportunities to give their concerns and recommendations. Practitioners should promote and encourage a development approach that is collaborative and involves all sectors. The practitioner should have the ability to build and sustain positive relationships among public bodies, private organizations, and communities. The practitioner has to reflect on the perspectives and ways through which different sectors can interact positively (Gilchrist and Taylor 2011, 70). This collaboration requires good governance, democracy, and rights and responsibilities. The practitioner should reflect on the diversity introduced by different sectors and introduce interventions that improve service delivery by combining the positive attributes of every sector. Management skills are the most important in this scenario due to differences in organizational objectives and goals. For example, community projects require finances from private firms, government institutions and NGOs. The community worker has to manage these contributions and expectations from the institutions when engaging in the project. The institutions usually have policies and governance systems that are unrelated. The practitioner must have strategies of managing their differences in order to produce positive results. Community development should support community learning by involving shared experiences. The community requires skills necessary for voicing their concerns and running their activities. Community Development practitioners act as educators as they encourage skill development by sharing their experiences. The practitioner should possess knowledge of government policies and initiatives that are advantageous to the community (Henderson 2010, 45). They help people identify their learning and development needs, and develop learning activities that address these needs. Practitioners can also involve other institutions in the learning activities. Practitioners must identify barriers to learning activities and develop learning approaches that overcome these barriers. This involves supporting individual and group learning, introducing supportive resources, and evaluating the effectiveness of the learning events and programs. An example is the introduction of a community program dealing with drug abuse in the society. Learning activities are required in order to train the members on different ways of helping drug addicts. Development workers can teach the community the dangers of drug abuse and methods of avoiding and withdrawing from substance abuse. Community Development practitioners provide support to organizations engaging in new projects. Some community groups may change their structures and become formal organizations. The practitioner should monitor and evaluate the groups to determine their viability as formal organizations (Henderson, 2010, 34); Gilchrist and Taylor, 2011, 56.). Development practitioners should understand the legal procedures involved when transforming from a community group to a formal organization. The practitioner should also model the short, medium, and long term action plan. This involves developing the strategic and operational aspects necessary for running organizations and participating in projects. Project management skills are necessary in organizations engaging in community projects. The practitioner should possess these skills and provide a means of training project managers in the organization (Kirton, 2012, 124). For example, a community group may become an organization that addresses homelessness in the community. The group requires legal registration and should manage housing projects effectively. The development practitioner can monitor the activities of the group until the necessary management skills are acquired. Section 2 Reflecting critically on the skills you have developed during this module and the feedback you have received, set out the gaps in your knowledge and skills. This should include: networking, presentation skills, prioritization skills, and skills in arguing a case. You should also set out a SMART, one page plan to develop/obtain these knowledge and skills. Employee employability requires strong networking skills. This involves the ability to create links and interactions with employers and other employees. Networking requires strong communication skills and team-working skills. A network involves several people and the employee must communicate and work together with all team members. Good communication and team-work creates a work environment that maximizes the available resources to improve the profitability of the institution (Cranmer, 2006, 112). The employee must be co-operative, assertive, persuasive, responsible, and speak clearly to members of the group. The main problem in the networking skills is the ability to use language effectively (Trought, 2012, 40). This involves speaking and understanding responses from fellow members. A strong network is created through effective communication. This calls for further development and acquisition of communication skills. Presenting information clearly and effectively is an important skill for getting a message or opinion across, and is required in every field. Developing a captivating or inspirational presentation requires intensive preparation and a well organized delivery (Gunn, Bell and Kafmann, 2010, 67). Preparation is the most important part of a successful presentation and the material should be clear and well structured. This involves arranging what is to be said in a systematic order. Clear ideas and a good organization lead to a lively, logical, and compelling message. Visual cues can be used to complement the structure and enhance comprehension by the audience (Knight and Yorke 2002, 60). These cues should be used when necessary and should be appropriate to avoid ruining the presentation. The aids require advance preparation and the presenter should operate them efficiently. Good presentation involves entertainment as well as conveying information. Humor and imagination are required in a presentation to capture the attention of the audience. Confidence and composure are necessary for capturing the audience (Trought, 2012, 60). The presenter should relax and maintain an eye contact with the audience during the presentation. The body language such as gestures should match the point being made by the presenter. Prioritization requires good decision making since it involves overlooking some activities to give preference to others with fresh and new activities (Yorke and Knight, 2006, 98). Time management involves prioritizing the most important activities and avoid getting caught up in minor activities. The employee must critically analyze the tasks at hand and make decisions on which tasks to give the highest priority. Creativity is necessary when making priorities since the employee must perform all tasks even those with low priority (Trought, 2012, 50). Creativity is utilized when dividing the available time over activities that have to be accomplished. This also requires organization skills that create a systematic procedure for performing the tasks. Problem solving and analyzing the available information creates a skill gap. This involves making poor decisions that overlook the most important information or tasks. Effective prioritization calls for accurate decision making abilities that produce the required results by addressing the key areas efficiently. A positive approach is required when presenting or arguing a case. An employee should be ready to participate, make suggestions, accept new ideas, take responsibility of outcomes, and take criticism positively. The employee should display confidence when arguing the case and remain articulate for the audience to understand the argument (Kubler, and Forbes, 2005, 56). Integrity is necessary for making sensible arguments that follow the instructions and requirements of the case. Criticism and new ideas may originate from the argument, and the employee should accept them positively. The outcome of the argument may have different impacts, and the employee must accept and take responsibility of the outcomes. The gap exists in positive reaction to criticism (Kirton, 2012, 45). In the past, accepting criticism positively has been an uphill task. This involves viewing critics as discriminative individuals. This has created a big problem when engaging in debates and arguments that involve people with different opinions and objectives. Plan Participating in clubs and organizations in the college can help the acquisition of these skills. This involves joining the Business club and seeking a leadership post. According to Harvey et al (2002, 43), most employers seek graduates who are proactive, have multilayered communication, and can use high level skills such as analysis. Participating in club debates will improve my communication skills and improve confidence levels. Organizations also require employees who are responsible and accept the consequences of their choices (Dunne, Bennet and Carré, 2000, 124). Having a leadership role in a club creates responsibilities associated with that position. This will enhance my decision making abilities and improve my abilities to take responsibility of different choices. A leader should be presentable, well organized, and a good time manager. This improves presentation skills required by employees in the business environment. Participating in club leadership creates responsibilities that require good time management, organization, and presentation. Employers seek for graduates who can adapt to the workplace culture and participate in innovative teamwork. This may require participation in an internship or placement program immediately after graduation. According to Archer and Davison (2008, 34) soft skills such as communication skills and team work have more weight than technical skills. Student who demonstrate innovation, creativity, collaboration and risk taking have high preference by employers. According to Mason et al (2006, 115), placements and internships improve graduate labor market performance. These are effective methods of improving the suitability of graduates for the job market. They help students acquire the necessary job experience that places them at an advantage over other students. Students interact with employers during this period and develop the skills that have high preference among employers (Little, 2001; Mason, Williams and Cranmer, 2006.87). Team work and networking are encouraged in the job environment, and interns get the chance of acquiring these skills. Students also participate in projects that improve their case presentation skills. In conclusion, community development workers require strong skills and knowledge that can bring the community together while participating in a project. The practitioner must understand the values upheld by the community. The practitioner should have the ability to mobilize the community and encourage their participation in a common project. The community requires a learning experience that is enhanced by the development worker. This involves creating a learning environment and providing the necessary support. Graduates require certain skills before they venture into the labor market. These skills are acquired from learning activities, participation in school organizations, and internships. These skills include networking, prioritization, presentation, and case argument. References Archer, W. and Davison J. 2008.Graduate employability: What do employers think and want? London: The Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE). Cranmer, S. 2006. Enhancing graduate employability: best intentions and mixed outcomes. Studies in Higher Education, 31 (2), 169–184. London: SAGE Dunne, E., Bennet, N. and Carré, C. 2000. Skill development in higher education and employment. In: Coffield, F. (ed.)Differing visions of a learning society. Research findings, volume I. New York: The Policy Press & ESRC. Gilchrist, A., and Taylor, M. 2011. The short guide to community development. Bristol: Policy Press. Gunn, V. Bell, S and Kafmann. K. 2010. Thinking strategically about employability and graduate attributes: Universities and enhancing learning for beyond university. Enhancement themes. QAA. Harvey, L., Locke, W. and Morey, A., 2002, Enhancing Employability, Recognizing Diversity. London: Universities UK. Henderson, P. 2010. Community, development and civil society making connections in the European context. Bristol: Policy Press. Kirton, B. (2012) Brilliant Workplace Skills for Students & Graduates. Edinburgh: Pearson.   Knight, P.T. and Yorke, M. 2002. Employability through the curriculum. Tertiary Education and Management 8 (4), 261–276. Kubler, B. and Forbes, P., 2005. Student Employability Profiles. London: CIHE Little, B. 2001. Reading between the lines of graduate employment. Quality in Higher Education, 7 (2) 121–129. Mason, G., Williams, G. and Cranmer, S. 2006.Employability skills initiatives in higher education: What effects do they have on graduate labor outcomes? London: National Institute of Economic and Social Research. GLM293. National Occupation Standards. 2006. National Occupation Standards for Community Development. Lifelong Learning, UK. Trought, F. 2012. Brilliant employability skills how to stand out from the crowd in the graduate job market. Edinburgh:  Pearson.   Yorke, M and Knight, P. 2006. Embedding Employability into the Curriculum. Learning and Employability Series One. New York: Higher Education Academy. Read More