We were very heartened to hear from Professor James Heckman, the leading American economist and Nobel Laureate, at yesterday's Asia Society roundtable on the Future of Education in Asia that the most effective ways to boost the non-cognitive skills and employability of youth are mentoring and integrating schooling and work
According to Professor Heckman, "At the core of effective mentoring is what is at the core of effective parenting: attachment, interaction and trust. Effective policies focus on developing social and emotional skills, teaching conscientiousness".
Professor Heckman's twin focus on developing social and emotional skills and resilience while at the same time providing youth with work shadowing and career visits is closely aligned with what we are trying to do with our Life Skills Programme which has touched the lives of almost 9,000 secondary students from some of Hong Kong's poorest schools.
Like Professor Heckman, we believe that teamwork, creativity and problem-solving can only be effectively developed through experiential learning which is why our Life Skills and T.E.E.N. Programmes emphasise hands-on project work and interactive elements. We are always looking for more corporate partners - if your organisation would be interested in hosting a company visit and/or providing work shadowing opportunities for adolescent teens, please contact Connie Cheung at connie.cheung@twfhk.org.
