The Present & Connected Programme addresses three core issues facing corporate organisations:

1. How to equip their current talent with the people skills needed for their roles
2. How to ensure their talent pipeline is primed with the right future talent
3. How to deliver tangible social impact and business for good

The Present & Connected Programme addresses three core issues facing senior level (Year 10 +) educational organisations and youth groups:

1. How to equip their students with the core skills they need for their adult lives and careers
2. How to provide support and opportunities for navigating their future career choices
3. How to overcome the funding and resource pressures to do this

How does this work for each?

Corporates

No matter what technology your industry deploys to deliver your services or increase efficiency, at the heart of your business is people: your employees, clients, suppliers and partners.

Many managers and senior leaders begin their career journey on the basis of technical merit and experience. But with management and leadership responsibility, the skills required become more about people and communication: how to motivate, inspire, support, encourage, provide feedback and resolve conflict. These are skills that are rarely taught or modelled effectively in the workplace. 

These skills are commonly referred to as "soft skills" but they pack a serious punch, directly impacting:

• Performance
• Collaboration
• Innovation
• Inclusion
• Culture
• Employee engagement
  
• Retention
• Conflict resolution
• Sickness absence

Present & Connected is a 10-week programme which enables your employees to develop and practice the core people and communication skills they need to support their current relationships, be they with colleagues, direct reports, line management, clients or personal relationships. It provides a clear framework to help them:

• Understand themselves and others
• Develop emotional and behavioural regulation
• Improve their receptive (listening) and active (expressing) communication skills 

The framework is based on psychology, neuroscience and the principles of mindful awareness and connective communication and with direct input from the real, lived experience of corporate employees.

The programme is mix of teaching, group coaching, practical exercises, reflection and practice outside the sessions to embed, develop and hone learning. 

Before and after participant questionnaires demonstrate attitudinal and behavioural change, with spaced post-programme check-ins to maintain momentum and continued learning. This is not a performative or tick box exercise. It is a thorough programme designed to effect lasting attitudinal and behavioural change beyond the individual participant.

For every corporate cohort delivered, a free Youth Programme will be delivered to a student cohort

The Present & Connected programme aims to create lasting partnerships between corporates and educational establishments or youth organisations providing corporates with the following:

1. Tangible Social Impact by funding a youth skill programme
2. An opportunity to showcase your organisation and industry to young people making choices about their future careers
3. Equipping those potential future employees with the people and communication skills you need for your workplace in advance

If you're a corporate organisation interested in up-skilling your current or future talent, please get in touch to find out more.

Education & Youth Sector

Young people today face unprecedented challenges. The prevalence of digital communication tools such as messaging and social media, the Covid 19 pandemic and a breakdown of local communities has led to a rise in mental health crisis and the degeneration of core people and communication skills. The teenage years and young adulthood is already a challenging one as young people navigate their own physical and emotional development while being bombarded with media messaging.

They also face a future where the rapid and widespread adoption of AI is challenging the certainty of many existing employment opportunities and where the differentiating factor will not be technical skills but human skills.

These skills never make it onto the curriculum and most senior schools, colleges, universities and youth organisations are already struggling to fund extracurricular opportunities.

Meanwhile, educational establishments at senior school level and beyond are tasked with providing support and opportunities for young people beginning to make choices about their future career path.

The Present & Connected Programme partners corporate organisations who are committed to developing their talent pipeline, showcasing their industry and to having tangible social impact with educational and youth organisations who lack funding to equip young people with employability skills and opportunities.

This 10-week programme enables young people to develop and practice the core people and communication skills they need to support their current relationships, navigate their careers and create the workplaces of the future. It provides a clear framework to help them:

• Understand themselves and others
• Develop emotional and behavioural regulation
• Communicate with accuracy and respect, reducing conflict and inviting connection and collaboration

The impact for the young person

• Self awareness
• Increased confidence
• Emotional intelligence
• Conflict resolution
• Strengthened relationships
• Authenticity
• Collaboration
• Self advocacy and autonomy
• Inclusion
• Opportunities to discover a potential employer or industry with which to pursue a career

The impact beyond the individual

• Better interpersonal relationships between friends, peers, family, community, teachers and future colleagues
• Modelling and fostering safe, inclusive, collaborative and innovative cultures wherever they go

The framework is based on psychology, neuroscience and the principles of mindful awareness and connective communication and with direct input from the real, lived experience of young people.

The programme is mix of teaching, group coaching, practical exercises, reflection and practice outside the sessions to embed, develop and hone learning.

Before and after participant questionnaires demonstrate attitudinal and behavioural change, with spaced post-programme check-ins to maintain momentum and continued learning. This is not a performative or tick box exercise. It is a thorough programme designed to effect lasting attitudinal and behavioural change beyond the individual participant.

If you're an educational establishment or youth group interested in supporting young people in Year 10 and above to develop the skills and opportunities they need for their futures, please get in touch to find out more.