Schools Requirements To Conduct A Mindshop Excellence Program

Host Company Requirements To Conduct A Mindshop Excellence Program

Student Requirements - What To Bring To Your Work Experience

Facilitator Requirements - What Are Your Duties?

Issues addressed by Excellence Groups already

Schools Requirements To Conduct A Mindshop Excellence Program

The schools and their students are the heart of Mindshop Excellence; without them, there would be no Excellence programs. The students provide the Consulting Team to work in a host organization for five days, receiving training and then analyzing an issue in that organization, preparing a report and presenting their findings to the management, staff, school representatives and their parents.

Ideally we would prefer the school to source a host company for students from their own contacts via their Parents and Friends Association or School Board. Mindshop Excellence through their association with industry, government departments, councils and various networks including LLEN may be able to assist with procuring a suitable host company for your students.

The Mindshop Excellence coordinator will source a Facilitator for the program as soon as a registration of interest and dates are received from the school.

Summary of Tasks for the Work Experience Coordinator Source of information published by the Communications Division, for the Pathways Section, Department of Education & Training, Victoria (DE&T)

The school careers teacher usually selects up to 6 students for each program

Liaise with school timetable and have the dates endorsed by the curriculum (or other appropriate) committee

Develop and distribute clear procedures for students to follow should they have difficulties during their placement

Ensure that appropriate arrangements have been made for the students to travel to and from the workplace

Ensure that the employer completes the Occupational Health Forms

Make sure that students and the Host Organization are given copies of the Work Experience Arrangement Form

Liaise with the Mindshop Excellence Coordinator and be on call if any issues arise with a student during the week's work experience program

The school representative is expected to attend the presentation and parents should be notified of the presentation and encouraged to attend

The school representative should complete the Mindshop Excellence Registration form and fax or sent it completed to the Mindshop Excellence address as mentioned

The school representative should email to the Mindshop Excellence coordinator, the student's names so that the correct spelling can be ensured on their graduating certificates.

Complete the Mindshop Excellence Placement Information Form and give a copy to each student.

Determine that the students have the ability to undertake the work experience as specified within the work experience arrangement and can do so without exposing others in the workplace to any extraordinary risk

1. Responsible students.
a. They will be seen as equal partners for the week so it is vitally important that they have respect for all other employees of the host organization
b. They need to understand and follow the safety requirements of the host company
c. They should never take for granted the trust placed with them
d. The ability to work well with minimal supervision

2. Students with the capabilities of working as a team
a. They should respect their fellow team mates
b. Understand individual needs and abilities
c. They should be capable of meeting deadlines
d. Students should have basic computer knowledge especially in Excel and PowerPoint

3. Analytical Skills
a. Whilst this is not a priority it would be an advantageous skill to bring to the group

4. Students who want to be there!
a. This is a unique opportunity for the student to develop. It should not be seen as a 'last resort' because they haven't been able to find any other work placement.

It is often suggested that the student's work experience efforts are recognized in the school community by an article in the school newsletter or the local paper.

All correspondence for the Mindshop Excellence work experience program should be addressed to:-

The Mindshop Educational Trust Board
The Coordinator - Julie Mason
10/25 Claremont St, South Yarra, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 3 8807 0163
Mobile: 0408511917
Fax: +61 3 8807 0167

Email: jemason@mindshop.com

If interested please click here to complete our registration form.

Host Company Requirements To Conduct A Mindshop Excellence Program

Company details must be provided to the Mindshop Excellence Coordinator either on the Mindshop Excellence Registration form or by faxing the details below directly to the Mindshop Office on +61 3 8807 0167

We require your:

Company Name
Address
Phone Number
Fax Number
Email
CEO
Program Contact Person
Program Date and School

The standard one-week program, involves a small group of students who are placed in a host organisation and given a real business issue to solve.

What will it cost?
In most cases, the sponsor or host organization is asked to donate $300 for each program to the Mindshop Educational Trust. (*Donations of $2 and over to the Mindshop Educational Trust are tax deductible). An invoice will be sent to the sponsor on completion of the program.

Generally speaking the School arrange for the host organization or sponsor to pay the fee. However in some situations schools have been able to pay this fee as part of allocated funding for a specific educational project.

It is customary for employers to pay the standard Work Experience fees to each student of $5/per day. Some employers value the benefits of the student's recommendations so much that they pay them more than the $25 per week.

Some Host Companies present students with gifts as well as their week's salary. For example, Company hats, Company t-shirts, Company pens.

What's in it for the Host?
An opportunity to have a real issue addressed by a fresh set of eyes. A saving of many "man hours" for existing staff members.

An invitation for members of your staff to be involved in the training on Day 1 and be introduced to the Mindshop Process and a number of leading edge problem solving tools.

An opportunity to put something back into your community by assisting the next generation of working Australians. A plaque in recognition of your support.

Brief Overview of the partnership between the program and the host
Provides an opportunity for teenagers to further develop their skills and add benefit to your work place.

You can receive 200 hours of support for $300 plus work experience student payment of $25 per student.

All you have to do is allow a team of year 10 students (5-6) to work through a project that is relevant to your business for one week.

Mindshop will provide a qualified Facilitator at no charge to support the Mindshop Excellence student team.

We will need your support to provide a room for training, which could also be their base for the week to allow them to work on their project.

A coordinator should be available to provide safety and local knowledge about your business.

At the end of the week, the Mindshop Excellence team will give a presentation of their findings and recommend actions to be taken for further improvement to your business.

Your management, teachers and parents of the students could also be invited.

Your involvement would be recognized at this presentation.

The students learn and develop their skills, your company also benefits with improvements that could add profit to your Business.

The structure of the week follows the format of one of the Mindshop tools, the Now-Where-How. Teams are formed, with the group nominating a team leader who directly liaises with the Facilitator by phone and/or email each evening so their progress can be monitored.

On the first day the students are trained in the key Mindshop tools, which enables them to develop a specific plan to fix the issue. The supervisor from the Host Organization spends a couple of hours with the students later on their first day, to make sure they understand their responsibilities, to explain the issue and to help them with any questions they may have about the work environment they will be experiencing. The following days are used to gather data and develop the plan.

On the final day a formal presentation is made to the host organization.

Usually, members of the Host Organization, the Parents, Teachers and the Mindshop Facilitator attend this presentation.

Logistics
Students will be with your company for five days (Monday – Friday). The schedule for the five days is:

Day 1 – Training in the basic Mindshop tools & presentation skills
Day 2 – Preliminary familiarization & data gathering
Days 3 & 4 – Data gathering & analysis, problem solving & planning
Day 5 – Preparation for & presentation to representatives from the host organization, their school & their parents

Training Day:

A room will need to be provided for the training day.

The facilitator will need to have access to:

Overhead projector/power point projector
Whiteboard
Flip chart

Working Requirements:

The students will need a suitable area in which to work for the remainder of the week. They will need access to:

A computer (for the preparation of their report)
Phones, if needed to contact relevant parties
Photocopier to run off copies of their report for distribution at the presentation
Overhead transparencies (if using an overhead projector during the presentation)
A staff member who can act as a liaison within your organization


Please contact the Mindshop Excellence Coordinator if you will be unable to provide any of this equipment and alternative arrangements can be made. (Phone: Julie Mason- 0408511917)

If interested please click here to complete our registration form.

Some of the issues addressed by Excellence Groups have included:

• Plane Misfuelling
• Better use of Existing Resources in order to Reduce Cost and to Minimize the Need for the Injection of Additional Capital
• Analyse & Streamline Incoming Goods System
• Solving Packaging & Labeling Problems
• Reassess the Marketing Strategies of a Medical Practice
• Do a feasibility study on the possibility of building a new R & D area at the Mars factory
• Develop a Relocation Plan for Manufacturing Company
• Improving Recruitment Services
• Developing Internet Page for Consulting Company
• Improving time Management System & Customer Support Services
• Factory Lay-out & Organisation
• Paper Wastage in the Office
• Signage at Melbourne Central - Suggest Improvement to Existing System
• How to induct and retain more women in the Automotive Industry?
• Devise a solution to create new man/machine interfaces utilising brake-by-wire technology
• How do we get kids excited about Science?
• Type of Plating to be Used in Pump Component
• Ways of Improving Market Share of Franchisees & Franchisors
• Review Purchasing, Stock Control & Stock Wastage Systems at a Golf Club
• Improving Communication at Faculty of Business RMIT
• Increasing Franchise Market Share - CBA Business Banking
• Exploring Waste Issues Within a Manufacturing Facility
• Solutions Relating to a Council’s Communication with it’s External Audience
• Raising the Profile of a Community Living & Learning Centre
• Developing a Community Directory
• Develop a User Friendly Animal Registration System for a Local Council
• Developing a Directory of Available Youth Services at a Community Health Centre
• Conducting and Compiling Data from an Employee Survey
• Evaluate ways to save energy costs and environmental waste in this Textile Company.
• Should a Division of an International Food Manufacturer open a Retail outlet in a Regional Centre
• To source new and efficient ways of storing and distributing calibrators on the factory floor
• Investigate and analyse cost savings solutions to traffic flow for pedestrians, products and forklifts
• Review the budget process and make suggestions for a similar process to be implemented at divisional level in the Council.