Smart Start Week

A&O Shearman launched Smart Start Week in 2009 with the aim of giving young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds access to high-quality work experience in the world of business.

Since its launch, Smart Start Week has supported over 1,800 young people. As the recipient of many prestigious awards, Smart Start Week was the first work experience scheme in the legal sector to have its programme Assured by City & Guilds.

Through a timetable of interactive workshops and team challenges, Smart Start Week allows Year 12 students to develop the skills necessary to succeed in their next steps and the world of work. They develop knowledge of city careers & associated routes, tackle challenges and learn how to apply the eight Skills Builder essential skills: Listening, Speaking, Problem Solving, Creativity, Staying Positive, Aiming High, Leadership and Teamwork.

Students will have the opportunity to practise these essential skills at the Getting Started, Intermediate and Advanced Stages of the Skills Builder Universal Framework, and assess progress at the end of the week.

Some reflections from Smart Start Week 2023 participants are below:

• "The tasks we were expected to undertake as part of Smart Start Week gave us the opportunity to boost our skills in a variety of ways. For instance, by conducting interviews with A&O Shearman employees I was able to recognise the STAR method used in interviews, and this enabled me to enhance my developed explanations, as well as my interviewing skills."
  (Smart Start Week participant – 2023)
• “Through tasks like negotiations and pitching my ideas to a panel of judges, Smart Start Week gave me an understanding of how an international legal firm operates. Additionally, we had the chance to communicate with solicitors at A&O Shearman to comprehend the various departments inside the firm.”
  (Smart Start Week participant – 2023)
• “The tasks we completed required us to work as a team and listen to one another, which allowed my teamwork and listening skills to develop. My speaking skills also improved as a result of the public presentations we had to give, which forced me out of my comfort zone and prepared me for the real world.”
  (Smart Start Week participant – 2023)

A&O Shearman has developed Smart Start Week over the years to be supplemented by e-mentoring, ongoing support through university (Smarter Futures) and a limited number of scholarships to help with the costs of university.

In 2021 A&O Shearman partnered with Causeway Education to adapt the Smart Start Week for online delivery. Since then, Smart Applications provides an online alternative to Smart Start Week (click here for more information).

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To find out more, contact smartstart@causeway.education.