Today’s Teens Need Extra Help
Stuck in a virtual environment for over two years of their young lives, Gen Zs find themselves grappling with a lack of confidence in crucial skills. Many articles highlight their lack of soft skills, exacerbating their sense of uncertainty. When we talk to them, they tell us:
They are dying for mentorship, but they don’t want to be judged.
They want connections, but they have a hard time communicating in in-person collaborative settings.
They feel fragmented and inundated.
Their generation feels lost in the noise.
At Future Professionals Academy, our drive is not only to guide them, but to inspire and encourage them. The opportunity for impact is now, while they’re still in their formative years. Together, we can equip them with the tools they need to succeed and thrive.
What is Future Professionals Academy?
Toni stumbled upon a pivotal idea during a casual drive. While chatting with her daughter's friend, Toni shared insights from the CliftonStrengths Assessment she and her business partner were using for coaching and training. Her daughter’s friend confessed her lack of knowledge about her strengths as well as a lack of confidence in her abilities, a common issue known as Imposter Syndrome. Toni realized how pivotal knowing one’s strengths at a young age could be.
Toni told Rhonda, her partner, about the conversation and it sparked a huge turning point. Rhonda realized that her whole life had been leading her to this new endeavor. After 25 years in HR, doing talent coaching and leadership training, Rhonda had a lot of experience with young people. While others complained about working with Gen Z and Millennials, she absolutely loved it and really believed in them. Rhonda and Toni decided to revamp their Corporate Leadership and Team Development workshops into something aimed at the younger generations, and the Future Professionals Academy was born.
What We Offer
Our highly interactive online workshops for small groups of teens are essential for personal and professional growth. The skills they learn are critical to navigate today’s complicated world.
Through the renowned CliftonStrengths Assessment, we kickstart their journey by identifying individual strengths. From there, we delve into confidence, communication, critical thinking and decision making, laying the foundation for a more fulfilling future and helping them define their true sense of purpose.
In each 2-hour workshop, learning is enhanced with interactive “breakout rooms” where participants put new skills into practice and discuss what they’ve learned with each other. Practicing a skill makes it a habit, and doing this together fosters intimacy and trust between them, bringing learning to life in a vivid and memorable way.
Summer ‘24 Accelerated Session
Our Core 4-Workshop Series
Sundays - July 7, 14, 21, 28 (Live on Zoom)
-
This workshop uses the CliftonStrengths tool and allows each participant to discover their unique strengths and learn how to leverage them as well as understand and value other’s strengths. Participants will learn to name, claim, and aim their strengths to achieve their full potential in their lives. Knowing one’s strengths leads to confidence, productivity, engagement, resilience, hope, and direction for the future. Also included are parental aids to support your child through their journey.
-
This workshop allows each participant to build a confidence ‘bank account’ into which they can make deposits (of successes) and from which they can make withdrawals (of perceived failures). It explains how our confidence is made up of our mindset, our inner voice, and our behaviors. Participants will learn how to work on one or all of these aspects to improve their overall confidence and overcome impostor syndrome.
-
One of the hardest areas for any age, and especially for students of this generation, is communication. This workshop is focused on the most important skills for effective communication, centered around active listening and empathy. These skills are the building blocks to give and receive feedback. This workshop also provides a practical structure to help participants navigate difficult conversations, enabling them to have the conversations they should be having.
-
This workshop shows participants how to make decisions through critical thinking and creative problem-solving, using a whole-brain method that fosters creativity and logic. Participants learn processes to assess issues individually and as a group. Also encouraged is a ‘kitchen table’ approach, where the participants learn to surround themselves with people who care about them and help them make the best decisions.
What Our Participants Say
What Parents Say
My daughter felt understood & safe with Rhonda & Toni
I am thrilled that (my daughter) had the opportunity to take part in the Future Professionals Academy. She has benefitted in many ways, for example, she now feels more adaptable and calm amongst her peers, particularly those that she has previously found challenging to be around. Also she now recognises the power of a positive and empathetic mindset. Certainly the fact that she felt understood and safe during the workshops with Rhonda and Toni meant that she was able to fully open up and take on board new ways of viewing her own experiences and behaviors, as well as those of others. I wholeheartedly recommend this program series to other young people, ultimately it allows them to see their strengths more clearly while also honing invaluable social awareness, all within a supportive and kind environment.
- Marianna, mother of 17 year old participant
More Testimonials
I am more open-minded with my parents now.
I changed my approach when talking to my parents about things. Before I always approached it as I have to convince them to do what I want, and now I try to go in with an open mind so we can discuss and come up with decisions or solutions together. - Isha - student in London, UK
I use the tools I learned pretty much every day.
I loved our small group discussions to work out issues with brainstorming and bonding. The Zig Zag method really helps me to stop dwelling, and also with stress. I use the tools I learned pretty much every day.” - Elis, student in Amsterdam, Netherlands
It made me feel special.
The Team Strengths Grid really made me feel special. - Raffaela, student in London, UK
My parents saw my strengths.
Sharing my Strengths Report with my parents was a great experience. They told me stories about times when they saw my strengths. - Siena, student in London, UK
Meet Our Team
Rhonda Bernard
Rhonda is a certified coach, facilitator, and consultant with over 25 years of senior-level human resources and leadership experience. She is a talented facilitator who brings energy, passion, and drive to create an environment where people come together and learn. She has come to the unwavering belief that personal development must start as a teenager to provide the necessary resources to reach one's full potential.
“We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can prepare our children for the future.”
-Franklin D. Roosevelt
Toni McClintock
Toni McClintock’s strengths are communication, logic, and strategic planning. She is certified in several psychometric personality assessments, including CliftonStrengths and Myers-Briggs, which help people attain valid self-knowledge. Toni loves helping teens gain confidence by learning how to focus on their strengths in their journey of personal development to optimize satisfaction in their lives.
“Without training, they lacked knowledge. Without knowledge, they lacked confidence. Without confidence, they lacked victory.”
-Julius Caesar
Pricing
Summer ‘24 Special
This program is a great value.
It would be 2000€ if your teen had to do it alone.
One payment of 697€ (normally 800€ for 4 workshops)
or
4 payments 187€ each
Includes Full 34 CliftonStrengths Assessment (a 67€ value)
Gallup’s Full 34 CliftonStrengths Assessment and Reports are included (a 67€ value)
“Supporting Your Teen’s Strengths,” Parent Video is included
Certificate of Completion for Linkedin is included
Worksheets are included
Parent updates are included
10% discount for two or more people (must sign up together)
Money Back Guarantee
after the first workshop
If your teen does not want to continue after the first workshop, we will be happy to give you a full refund.
Book a 30 minute call with us if you have any questions or want more information. We would be happy to speak with you!
FAQs
What happens if my teen can’t attend the live workshops?
We record every session and make them available to all participants. They can listen to the recording on their own time, and all participants can go back to refresh anything they might have missed.
How long do we have access to the recordings?
Unlimited access to the recordings.
Can I pay with a credit card?
Yes, and you may also pay with PayPal or Revolut.
Can I pay with a wire transfer?
You can, but only if you choose a one-time payment. Otherwise, you must use a credit card.
Do you share anything the participants say with their parents or give the videos to the parents?
Everything discussed within the workshops stays confidential, and permission is asked before sharing anything. The breakout rooms are not recorded, and those remain between the participants. As for the recordings, they are sent to the participants, and it is their decision if they want to share them with their parents.
Can I choose who I want to take the program with?
You may choose to sign up with a friend or friends! We encourage it. We will try our best to put you in the same group. The earlier you sign up, the easier that will be.
Do you offer anything besides the four workshops?
We also offer 2 additional workshops which can be done after the four-course series. They are called “Intercultural Awareness” and “How to Be an Upstander/Conscious Inclusion” and can create customized workshops for your needs. We also have a podcast series, with our most recent podcasts focusing on Gen Z. They are called “All About Teams” and are on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Certificate
Each participant receives a Certificate of Completion at the end of the series, signifying an accomplishment that can be used for university applications, internships, Linkedin, and other applications.
Podcasts
Our Podcast Series, “All About Teams” has interesting, spicy, real stories and anecdotes from the workplace. More recently we are focusing on topics related to the younger generations and how we can understand each other better.
Episode 1 - Intro to All About Teams: Spotify, Apple Podcasts
Episode 2 - Happy Community, Happy Team: Spotify, Apple Podcasts
Episode 3 - How to Make Your Feedback a Gift Spotify , Apple Podcasts
Episode 4 - What’s Wrong with Gen Z? Spotify , Apple Podcasts
Episode 5 - The Sincere Apology Spotify , Apple Podcasts
Episode 6 - Value Driven Leadership: Myth or Reality Spotify , Apple Podcasts
Episode 7 - A Conversation with Gen Z Spotify , Apple Podcasts