Developing Employability Skills for Disadvantaged Employees at UNICEF UK

This report outlines a training program designed for UNICEF UK employees from disadvantaged backgrounds and minority groups. It addresses the lack of specific skills related to work readiness and aims to create an equal opportunity workplace. The program focuses on developing key employability skills, including emotional intelligence, self-management, energy management, and self-esteem and confidence. The report provides recommendations for implementing the program and achieving its objectives.

ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...............................................................................................................2
BACKGROUND............................................................................................................................3
BUILDING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE.......................................................................................4
BUILDING SPECIFIC SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS.......................................................................5
BUILDING ENERGY MANAGEMENT SKILLS.................................................................................6
BUILDING SELF-ESTEEM AND CONFIDENCE...............................................................................7
RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES.............................................................................................................................10
1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The training programme is to be developed at UNICEF UK to build employability skills of the
employees who belong to the disadvantaged background and minority groups. The issue
increase at UNICEF UK is to resolve the lack of specific skills regarding the work readiness
and provide equal opportunity workplace. This report consists certain skills such as
emotional intelligence, specific self-management skills, energy management skills and self-
esteem and confidence. Recommendations are given to improve the employability skills of
employees at UNICEF UK.
2

BACKGROUND
This report is prepared to develop employability skills in the employee who belong to
minority groups and disadvantaged backgrounds. The members of the Charity UNICEF UK
want to ensure that equal opportunities are provided to every employee who comes from
disadvantaged backgrounds and minority groups (Harrison, 2009). The problem experienced
by the charity was that there was lack of specific skills regarding work readiness among the
new employees. It gives the opportunity to the members of the UNICEF UK to conduct the
training program and activities to develop the yearlong programme in order to build
employability skills among the employees.
3

BUILDING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Emotional intelligence is referred to the ability, skill or capability to understand as well as
manage the emotions of one and others. The charity UNICEF UK is aiming to ensure that the
employees belonging to underserved population should develop the emotional intelligence
in order to manage and maintain their own emotions and also understand the of other
people (Cherniss and Goleman, 2001). In order to measure the emotional intelligence, the
score derived by taking various standardised tests of the employees from minority groups
and the disadvantaged background is intelligence quotient or IQ. It is essential for the
employees from minority groups and the background to effectively manage behaviour by
navigating the social situations and also make a personal decision.
Two primary competencies are to be measured of the employees from minority groups and
disadvantaged background, under emotional intelligence, is personal competence and social
competence (Druskat, et al. 2013). Self-awareness and self-management are to be covered
in personal competences and social awareness and relationship management is to be
covered in social competence. Some of the good practices to be followed at UNICEF UK are
paving the way wherein both organizational and individual needs are assessed and delivered
with care. Building emotional intelligent, leaders and managers at UNICEF UK should be able
to understand their own emotions and also gauge and be open to the feelings of employees
from minority groups and disadvantaged backgrounds.
Encourage the employees from minority groups and disadvantaged background to
participate and also link learning goals with the personal value to adjust the expectation
thereby gauging readiness (Rode, et al. 2017). The managers should make the changes by
setting clear goals and also make change self-directed. Managers should foster a positive
relationship among the trainers and employees from minority groups and disadvantaged
background by providing them with the opportunities to practice and monitor their
performance to give feedback (Druskat, et al. 2013). It is essential for the leaders of Charity
UNICEF UK to create and manage the working environment that includes rewards, flexibility,
responsibility, clarity, standards and commitments.
4

BUILDING SPECIFIC SELF-MANAGEMENT SKILLS
Self-management skills are referred to the strategies, skills and ability of the individuals that
can be used to achieve the goals. Self-management skills mean taking responsibility for the
actions as well as performing those actions. It is essential for the line managers to build the
self-management skills in order effectively manage their own self. These skills include
initiatives, organization and accountability. The leaders and managers at UNICEF UK need to
encourage the employees from minority groups and disadvantaged background to take
initiatives by responding to as well as dealing with the problems.
Organizations skills are to be developed in order to manage the time as well as prioritise the
task. SWOT analysis of each employee is to be done to ascertain the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats to analyse the level of readiness of the employees from minority
groups and disadvantaged background (Rode, et al. 2017). Self-management skills can be
developed by focusing on its three elements through volunteering or initiating a project,
using the planner to manage the routine and setting deadlines for the project, also taking
ownership to complete the task and taking steps to improve the skills.
Time management is one of the most valuable resources in developing self-management
skills. Through this ways the employees from minority groups and disadvantaged
background will help in managing the times, being recognised through the work and
increase the ability to perform better by seeking out opportunities for work experience,
training and much more (Druskat, et al. 2013). Employees from minority groups and
disadvantaged background will able to handle responsibilities by taking extra care in their
tasks and activities. Constant efforts by supporting employees from minority groups and
disadvantaged background will improve the chances in life by making choices and take
responsibility for the actions both inside and outside of work.
5

BUILDING ENERGY MANAGEMENT SKILLS
The key to high performance is not the time but managing the energy. Effective
management of energy makes it possible for employees to fully engage in the activities. The
four essential dimensions of energy are body emotions, spirit and mind (Loehr and
Schwartz, 2003). The employees from minority from minority groups and disadvantaged
backgrounds need to manage the physical, spiritual and mental activities. Employees can
manage the time but still find themselves stressed, exhausted, unable to concentrate and
unable to give other people attention. Energy management is a path to power, success,
productivity and satisfaction which is a strategy of full engagement.
Employees from minority groups and disadvantaged backgrounds lack physical energy as it
fundamentally depends on breathing and eating which is needed to be balanced. Proper
diet, hydration and plenty of sleep balance the physical energy by positively affecting the
body (Robertson and Cooper, 2010). The rhythmic cycle of the human body is about every
90 to 120 minutes. The emotional energy of an individual is expressed in self-confidence,
sociability, self-discipline and empathy (Loehr and Schwartz, 2003). Building positive
relationships with the employees from minority groups and disadvantaged backgrounds will
helps in boosting emotional energy. The managers and leaders at work should listen to
people and empathise.
Physical and emotional energy helps in balanced mental functioning. It is observed in
various studies that mental energy is generated with the correlation between productivity
and positive thinking (Robertson and Cooper, 2010). Spiritual energy is based on taking care
of yourself and other people. Employees should be trained by including purpose, self-
evaluation and establishing rituals. Identifying the purpose and self-examination and
establishing the baseline to use energy. Training will helps in building mental, emotional and
spiritual strengths which results in pushing beyond limit systematically (Loehr and Schwartz,
2003). Thus, energy management skills will help employees from minority groups and
disadvantaged backgrounds in rhythmically balancing stress and rest.
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7

BUILDING SELF-ESTEEM AND CONFIDENCE
Self-esteem is meant by the way the individual estimate themselves. And self-confidence is
referred to the feeling of trust in abilities, judgement, and quality of an individual. Employee
belonging to minority groups and disadvantaged backgrounds have low self-esteem due to
discrimination and stigma and difficulties in life events as well as due to social isolation and
loneliness (Nathaniel Branden. 1995). This low self-esteem is related to poor mental health
which hinders performance and affects confidence level. These mental health problems
affect the readiness at work.
The employees from minority groups and disadvantaged backgrounds should be
encouraged to be engaged in their jobs or tasks which will make them feel confident and
supported in their role. Building positive relationships art workplace with other employees
will help in building positive self-esteem (Al-Khawaldeh, et al. 2012). The managers and
leaders should focus on the positive things of the employees so as to build positive self-
esteem. The leaders and managers can use the sandwich method of feedback to provide
feedback on the work by starting with positive feedback and then providing the constructive
criticism and ending with a positive note to build confidence and self-esteem.
Effective management of the role of employees from minority groups and disadvantaged
backgrounds helps in balancing the work and home-life (Yukl, 2012). Employees from
minority groups and disadvantaged backgrounds should be trained on looking after their
physical health in order to make them happy and healthy thereby improving self-image
(Cialdini, 2007). The managers and leader at UNICEF UK should recognise the efforts of
employees from minority groups and disadvantaged backgrounds which help increasing
their self-esteem and confidence. The employees are encouraged to increase their
knowledge in order to build confidence and also engage in positive thinking and support
from the managers and leaders to build self-esteem.
8

RECOMMENDATIONS
It is recommended to the members of the UNICEF UK to perform various activities such as
relationship management activity, self-management activities, self-awareness activity and
social awareness activity in order to identify the score for emotional quotient of the
employees (Harrison, 2009). Sandwich method of feedback is to be given to the employees
from minority groups and disadvantaged backgrounds so as to motivate them by providing
constructive criticism between the positive feedbacks. It is also recommended to the
members of the charity to engage their employees in time-honoured techniques for
physical, spiritual and mental growth by balancing the stress and rest in a rhythmic cycle
(Loehr and Schwartz, 2003).
9

CONCLUSION
Thus it can be concluded that all the employability skills such as emotional intelligence,
specific management skills and energy management skills help in building self-esteem and
confidence level of the employees. It is also clear that the support from other employee and
management team will increase the skill among employees from disadvantaged
backgrounds and minority groups (Silverman, 2003). Activities recommended to develop
work-readiness will support the employees in their overall integration to workplace. This
report ensures that the training activities to be will helps in improving the employability
skills among the employees by providing equal opportunities at workplace.
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REFERENCES
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10. Rode, J Arthuad-Day et al. 2017. A time-lagged study of emotional intelligence and
salary. Journal of vocational behaviour. 101 p77-89
11. Silverman, M. 2003. Supporting workplace learning: a background paper for IES
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