By PRISCILLA McINNESYE Area Director, NE KS & MO
However, just as important is continuing education outside of the classroom, giving tomorrow’s business leaders the opportunity to put learning into action. Continuing education outside of the classroom allows students to:
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CULTIVATE SOFT SKILLSSoft skills are key to success, regardless of a student’s career path. Whether it’s learning to work as part of a team, accept critique or dress appropriately for a meeting, the earlier students learn and practice these skills, the more prepared they will be for higher education and the business world.
Programs offering high schoolers the opportunity to develop soft skills prior to entering the workforce also play an important role in building an individual’s confidence. For example, a student interested in a career in sales can take skills learned in the classroom and put them to practice in an internship setting, allowing them to bolster their understanding of the business world. From interacting with clients in person to crafting professional emails, outside of the classroom learning is all about reinforcing these soft skills for maximum impact.
GAIN FIRST-HAND WORK EXPERIENCE One key benefit of continuing education outside of the classroom is its ability to expose students to different career paths early on. This is where internships, mentorships and job shadowing come into play, giving students tangible experiences outside of the classroom that introduce them to industries and opportunities they might not have known about before
Additionally, continuing education outside of the classroom gives students access to professionals who can help prepare them for the real world.
DEVELOP A MINDSET FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION Gaining first-hand work experience not only gives students insight into the workplace, but also helps them discover interests, talents and skills they may not have known existed before. This helps provide clarity on what they want to do moving forward. Whether students take part in a deep-dive into specific subjects, such as leadership or accounting, or cultivate their own businesses, they can find long-term success and fulfillment by extending their learning. These feelings of fulfillment help develop a passion for continuing education, also known as the growth mindset.
Providing educational opportunities outside of the classroom encourages the development of the growth mindset and makes students better problem solvers and value creators. And by creating value, students are able to improve their own lives, as well as the lives of others.
Programs that offer education opportunities outside of the classroom help create life-long learners and encourage the pursuit of higher education. In fact, surveys show Youth Entrepreneurs’ students graduate and pursue higher education at a higher rate than students not exposed to entrepreneurial learning and education outside of the classroom.
While the classroom is the place to create a spark for learning, resources outside of the classroom take that spark and fuel its fire.
To learn more about Youth Entrepreneurs, visit: https://youthentrepreneurs.org/
