English Speaking Board (International) Ltd

Author: Liam Morton

  • Inspiring confidence in employability at Belfast Metropolitan College

    Inspiring confidence and employability at Belfast Met!

    English Speaking Board (ESB) launched an Entry Level 1 qualification in employability last academic year.

    Inspiring Confidence in Employability is aimed at learners with learning or physical difficulties and designed to give them skills for entry into employment.

    Craig Bennett, Deputy Head Teacher at Calthorpe Academy, who developed and piloted the qualification for ESB said:

    The development of [ICE] is groundbreaking and helps fill the niche that currently exists for people working on this level.

    Belfast Metropolitan College have just added ICE to their taught portfolio. Ian Patterson, tutor at their Centre for Supported Learning said:

    We are delighted that Inspiring Confidence in Employability is now being delivered to adults at our centre. The student cohort have completed other accredited courses and the progression route to ESB is a positive next step.

    Although ICE is currently offered at Entry 1 and students may have completed programmes at Entry 3, the skill set is very different with the inclusion of spoken criteria in the mandatory unit, Interview Skills. Staff view this as a very useful component in equipping learners for the world of work.

    Clearly defined criteria and concise worksheets greatly augment the students’ work based practice and meaningfully enrich the learner experience. The staff teaching on the programme value the materials and report using them as a framework on which to base lessons.

    Not only are the teachers impressed, the learners love it too. Ian added:

    The students on the course are very proud of their portfolio of evidence to date and look forward to displaying their speaking and listening skills to the ESB examiners.

    Find out more about Inspiring Confidence in Employability (Entry 1).

  • English Speaking Board pioneers new Debating qualification

    Improve debating skills with ESB

    English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. has produced the first ever accredited qualification in debating.

    Awards in Debating are aimed at 10 to 18-year-olds and are designed to give youngsters an opportunity to improve their debating skills and endorse their talent for public speaking.

    Alison Coates, ESB’s Speech Business Development Advisor, who developed the suite of qualifications in conjunction with schools, said:

    We are very proud to be the first awarding organisation to offer a qualification in this essential expertise. It’s an excellent time to introduce the qualification as there’s such an emphasis on debate in the National Curriculum.

    Debating is an essential life skill and a fantastic aid to developing soft skills such as critical thinking, teamwork and leadership. We are excited to have developed a qualification suitable for candidates working at a variety of different levels in a diversity of educational contexts.

     

    The candidates will be examined in groups of eight: four in favour of the motion and four against. As with all of ESB’s Speaking and Listening assessments, the Awards in Debating will be assessed externally.  Experienced assessors will take into account content, style, structure, listening and response.

    ESB worked in conjunction with various education centres to create the Awards in Debating including Ibstock Place School in Roehampton.

    Kevin Darlington, English teacher at Ibstock Place said,

    ESB’s Awards in Debating are a groundbreaking set of qualifications. I would highly recommend them to any school looking to increase attainment in speaking and listening and to boost pupils’ confidence in public speaking.

     

    If you would like to find out more about ESB’s Awards in Debating then have a look at the syllabuses at Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3.

  • Powerful presentations mean powerful performance

    Improve presenting skills with ESB

    ESB delivered a training session at MPP Global last week as part of their two-part Corporate Presentation Skills Workshop.

    The market leading firm work with various national media outlets including the Daily Mail and The Times and were looking to develop their employee’s communication skills.

    Following the training, MPP Global’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Johnson said:

    ESB’s Corporate Presentation Skills Workshop exceeded my expectations; my staff really enjoyed the course and the results were outstanding. In just two sessions I saw a noticeable improvement in presentation style and witnessed staff effectively employing the techniques they had learnt. I would highly recommend the workshop to other companies who want to advance their workforce’s public speaking abilities and gain confidence in a fun environment.

    The workshop not only impressed management, the staff thoroughly enjoyed the day with 100% saying they would recommend the workshop to other companies.

    James Vallance, Marketing Executive at MPP Global said,

    ESB delivered a very patient, approachable set of workshops. We received both compliments and constructive feedback which made for very engaging training.

    If you would like your employees to benefit from one of ESB’s tailor made programmes then please contact Alison Coates who will be happy to provide you with more information.

  • Qualifications in employability at ESB

    ESB improves skills vital to employability

    All young people have to prepare for independence and employment but this can be a difficult and challenging process. ESB was inspired to create a brand new Employability Skills qualification to help prepare students for the world of work.

    Following the publication of the government’s Green Paper, which stipulated that students with learning, physical or sensory difficulties should enter into employment where possible, and consultations with employers including Sainsbury’s, Costa Coffee and Marriott Hotels, ESB developed a new and exciting Entry Level 1 qualification, Inspiring Confidence in Employability.

    The qualification includes a mandatory unit, Introducing Oral Interview Skills, which is externally assessed by an ESB assessor. This involves a presentation, a telephone call enquiring about an interview and a mock interview.

    The other four sections, Employment, Essential Employability, Preparing Yourself for Employability and Enterprise are assessed internally by a portfolio of evidence. Learners can tailor the qualification to their own strengths and interests by choosing from 43 separate unit choices including Working in a Children’s Nursery, Working in an Office, Solving Problems in the Workplace and Being Healthy – Keeping Fit.

    Inspiring Confidence in Employability was piloted in June at the Calthorpe Vocational Centre in Birmingham and is now being taken at a variety of SEND centres across the UK. ESB aims to launch the qualification at Entry Level 2 and 3 to provide a clear progression route into employment and other qualifications.

    Inspiring Confidence in Employability is a flexible qualification for 16+ learners allowing them to develop their assertive abilities and offering an opportunity for them to make their own choices. It is unique in its approach and develops the skills that employers want.

    Find out more about Inspiring Confidence in Employability.