GoTeach Improving educational opportunity and employability
The Goal of the Group-wide GoTeach program is to improve
educational opportunity and employability of young people, especially those
from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. As one of the world’s largest
employers, DHL relies on access to highly qualified employees around the world.
Furthermore in today’s rapidly changing world, education promotes greater
stability and prosperity – both for individuals and for the societies and
markets.
When it comes to their GoTeach activities, DHL’s employees
share not only their time but their own individual skills and experiences. Partnering
with them are SOS Children’s Villages and
the educational network Teach For All.
The partnership covers a wide variety of activities; these
can be clustered into the following categories:
- Job orientation – to educate teens about the job market
- Soft and basic skills training – to enable access to the job market
- Exposure to professional working environment – to gain initial work experience
- Training and support for establishing own businesses
The program started in four countries in 2011 and expanded
rapidly to 26 countries worldwide by 2015.
SOS Children's Villages
Local Ownership
The local ownership of the GoTeach program is considered a
unique feature of the partnership. In every country, SOS Children's Village and
DPDHL staff collaborate to plan and implement GoTeach activities. Given the
large number of program countries, and the differences between these contexts,
the formats and implementation of activities varies greatly. Nevertheless, all
activities are aimed at training and guiding the youth and/or sharing personal
career development stories and experience. As compared to other corporate
citizenship programs, GoTeach focuses more on empowering youth by sharing
professional expertise than on support through funding.
Corporate Citizenship
The partnership between Deutsche Post DHL Group and SOS
Children's Villages supports teens, improving their employability and assisting
them in leading a self-determined life.
Activities
In terms of implementation ownership of the GoTeach
partnership is at country level, making for a wide variety of activities based
on regional needs. This said, activities fit into four basic categories:
1. Skills and competency training
Social and emotional competencies are increasingly important in today's working
world. For this reason DHL made sure to support young individuals in
developing these skills. The Ton Kla Camp in Thailand is a three-day
workshop held by DHL employees for teens from SOS Children’s Villages. Watch
the video to get a feel for this hugely successful GoTeach project.
2. Job orientation
Teens often lack orientation once they have finished their secondary schooling.
DHL's efforts in the area of job orientation aim to help them find their way by
exposing them to different occupations and areas of work. In Mexico, for
example, DHL Supply Chain holds job fairs to introduce various professions in a
way that is accessible – their employees combine interactive elements with
interesting facts to present their work and always feel great knowing that they
have exposed teens to new opportunities.
3. Professional experience
Internships at DHL give teens the chance to gain initial work experience. They
learn how to behave in a professional environment and are familiarized with the
ins and outs of a normal workday. Interns are assigned to an employee, who
supports them during the work placement. Many of them are offered a job within
the company once they have completed their internship
4. Entrepreneurship / Start-ups
Activities in the area of entrepreneurship are designed to provide teens with
the tools they need to start their own businesses. As part of one such project,
a group of teens in Uganda spent three months developing their own
business idea – the result: companies that have since created jobs. DHL
employees supported them during the development and start-up phase.
Source: http://www.dpdhl.com/en/responsibility/corporate_citizenship/championing_education/partnership_sos_childrens_villages.html
