Here at Gap Year Solutions, we have long focused on helping teens build life skills, and be better prepared to walk on to a college campus and have an amazing and successful four years (yes, parents, four – not five or six years!)
Now, we are excited to announce that we are expanding our focus to another important area of teen development. LaunchPoint, a 4 week live online course, is helping young adults build the essential professional skills needed to succeed in post-secondary and business settings. We were inspired to build LaunchPoint as direct result of our internship placement service which we began offering a couple years ago. We found that many of our internship candidates lacked the basic skills necessary to perform well in a workplace.
Mastering professional skills can help students stand out to future employers, improve confidence, adapt to changing environments, and work well with others. Basic professional skills and mastery of soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and time management, are mentioned by employers as lacking in young candidates. Although GenZ is technically savvy, this reliance on technology has led to a lapse in certain soft skills that are often necessary for growth and success in the business world.
LaunchPoint will consist of a series of modules taught online by a live instructor in a group setting. The course will cover:
- Building a professional presence (essentials of an impactful resume and online presence, e.g., LinkedIn)
- Essentials in professional communication (verbal communication and listening, and written and non-verbal skills)
- Time management and prioritization techniques
- Professional interviewing and preparation
- Empowerment and personal success, including building relationships, sourcing internships, setting goals, and introduction to personal branding and messaging
- Mastery challenge (an optional personal “story” video highlighting unique strengths and business skillsets)
The LaunchPoint course is available to high school juniors and seniors, Gap Year students after high school and in college, and college students. Basically, we welcome any 16-22 year old who would like to improve their ability to perform well in a professional environment!
We can’t wait to kick off LaunchPoint with our first cohort. We are enrolling now for the session taking place November 12, 2024 – December 17, 2024. Sessions will be held at 7:00pm ET on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Interested families can find more information here, and email us at hello@gapyearsolutions.com for more information. Students interested in applying can fill out our Interest Form and we will be in touch!
