Thursday 20-04-2017 - 15:20

Recently, Durham Students’ Union has launched the Take The Lead programme to provide a platform for Durham University students to develop their leadership skills through contributing to the work of the National Citizens Service (NCS). We recognise that organisations need talented individuals, so it’s essential that graduates can demonstrate their talent and showcase themselves to stand out from the crowd. This programme is a great opportunity to do this, and I'm really excited about being able to get Durham students involved. We want our students to be able to set themselves apart. They need to become the graduate who thinks in terms of employability skills, not the graduate who solely lists all the skills associated with their degree. The knowledge and research we undertook in our recent Employability and Skills Report shows that employers are becoming increasingly focused on leadership potential and having a willingness to learn and develop.

We became aware of National Citizens Service (NCS) in 2016 when our building was used to host NCS teams. We were inspired by the work that the NCS teams undertook and were particularly interested in the social action projects. This led to the idea for a leadership development programme. We wanted to have a programme which was accessible to all students and most importantly, would give an experiential learning element – NCS met this need perfectly. We proposed this concept to the University Careers, Employability and Enterprise Centre and it was agreed to develop a leadership development programme in partnership with NCS.

Much of the training we have traditionally delivered has been focussed towards students in leadership positions, with Take the Lead we wanted to create something that any student can get involved regardless of whether they have any past experience. This programme gives experiential learning and is in partnership with a well established organisation, NCS. It's the first time that a partnership like this has been created.

The Take the Lead programme is for any student who is looking to develop their leadership potential.  This programme runs from June to September and has three key parts which include:

• One week training in June to introduce the students to leadership and who they are as a leader
• Paid positions as a team leader/team assistant, working with young people on a community action project for a minimum of four weeks through the National Citizen Service
• A final reflective learning workshop in September which includes a final presentation of the student’s key achievements and learning, along with a mock interview

“Being a NCS Team Leader or Assistant is a great opportunity for students which, through challenging experiences, helps them to recognise their own strengths and to develop a wide range of skills, useful in any future career.” Dr Eleanor Loughlin, Student Study Skills Coordinator, Academic Skills Programme, Durham University.

Interested in alternative development opportunities? Keep your eyes peeled for Durham SU's Work Insights program, launching soon!