Take the Lead in 2022

For the fourth year running, we’ve held Take the Lead, our free employability programme for students in years 11–13. This year, we worked with 27 schools, in workshops that explored five-core employability skills (communication, self-management, self-belief, teamwork and problem solving) utilising drama and theatre techniques and facilitated discussion to give participants a practical toolkit to develop these skills and apply them to their own experiences.

Applications for next year’s Take the Lead are open until Mon 13 Jun, and you can apply for your school here.

88% of participants had never visited The Old Vic before, and participating schools received free tickets to bring their students to see A Number, watching the actors using the techniques they explored in their workshops.

This year, we were especially excited for the students to be welcomed by Royal Bank of Canada into their London headquarters for the final event. With Old Vic facilitators and RBC employees, the students took part in CV writing sessions, creating elevator pitches and mock interviews, and were given the chance to celebrate themselves and their new skills, and to feel empowered.

During this year’s Take the Lead, we took some of the top tips from the workshops – for writing a CV, preparing for an interview, and creating an elevator pitch. You can find these on our Instagram channel.

RBC employees also told us how they use the five core employability skills from Take the Lead in their everyday work, and you can watch these videos along with other career advice from RBC on our Education Hub.

We’re already looking forward to the fifth year of Take the Lead. Applications are open until Mon 13 Jun. Apply for your school here.

In association with CVC Foundation

Generously supported by The Portal Trust, John Lyon’s Charity and The HW Sanderson Art in Industry Fund