As students, you will now be beginning to prepare for progression from your school, college or sixth form, many of you may be feeling that this year, you’ve missed out on vital opportunities to develop your skills.

Traditional opportunities such as work experience, industry placements and enrichment activities have either been cancelled, postponed or delivered in a very different way due to the national lockdown, leaving you feeling that you have little to talk about in your applications to university, personal statements or CVs.

Whilst there have been a number of online opportunities for students this year, that's not all you have to demonstrate in your personal and professional development. This lockdown will have also provided you with many other hidden opportunities and ways to develop personal skills - you just need to realise that you are already doing it.

Newham Recorder: NewVIc principal, Mandeep Gill, says the lockdown will have provided students with many hidden opportunities and ways to develop personal skillsNewVIc principal, Mandeep Gill, says the lockdown will have provided students with many hidden opportunities and ways to develop personal skills (Image: NewVIc)

Learning and working from home is hard for all of us. There are many distractions and it’s not the environment we are used to working in so maintaining focus is hard. This lockdown, you will have developed skills such as independent learning, discipline and ability to manage your time effectively. These skills are highly valued by universities and employers as it demonstrates an ability to self manage and stay focussed on a task.

Experiencing the challenges and continuous changes the pandemic has brought shows a huge amount of resilience, flexibility and adaptability. These are important skills which equip you with the confidence to overcome challenges in the future.

If you have a sibling at home, perhaps you have had the opportunity to support them with their home learning and school work. By doing so, you will have been developing skills such as mentoring, coaching, leadership and the ability to inspire and motivate others.

If parents have been working from home, you also might have gained first hand insight into their work. By shadowing your parents and observing what they do on a day to day basis, you may have been inspired by a particular career or learnt more about a specific sector, developing your knowledge of careers and employability.

There is no doubt this past year has had a very real and significant impact on students’ learning and development. However, if we think positively about what we have been through and what we have gained from this pandemic, it is clear that there are many ways you have developed and grown. It just goes to show, learning never stops.