Careers Update January
Ms Alyson Boustead – Careers Coordinator
As National Apprenticeship Week and National Careers Week take place during Spring Term, we have a busy Sixth Form Speakers’ programme and our University and Careers Fair running alongside them.
We kicked off the speakers’ programme with an alumni speaker, Jane Ryder, who ‘Zoomed’ in to speak to us about aerospace engineering from Germany followed by Steve Jordan, also alumni and CEO of FiveWealth, who spoke about working in finance. In the coming weeks, we shall hear from an array of sectors including medicine, law and screenwriting and I’ll be presenting on the current landscape of post-18 options, the labour market and graduate recruitment.
Our University and Careers Fair will take place on February 5th comprising over 30 stalls of some of the region’s top employers, apprenticeship providers, voluntary organisations and gap year ideas alongside top universities from across the country. Speakers on the night will be talking about how to apply for university and we are delighted to welcome Dr Miri Firth from Manchester University who will be talking about building employability skills, confidence and evidence before leaving college. It will be an exciting and hugely informative event and we look forward to welcoming parents, carers and students from U4 to U6.
In preparation for Options Evening on 29th January, all of our L4 students have had a one to one options guidance discussion, reflecting on their skills, interests and ambitions to help them make informed decisions about their future. In a similar vein, L6 students, who are about to start preparing for university, will have one to one discussions tailored around their subjects, strengths and future aspirations.
A HUGE thank-you ….
May I take this opportunity to offer sincere thanks to all of the parents and alumni who have volunteered to offer talks and advice to our students at various events throughout the year. The value of the great careers guidance in fuelling the aspirations of our young people cannot be underestimated.
… and another request
I am running Young Enterprise’s £10 Challenge across the secondary and sixth form next half term, where our students will have four weeks to research, create, plan and run their own business with a £10 pledge.
The Challenge is a national enterprise programme that offers an excellent introduction to enterprise and financial education, and enhances employability skills and career readiness. It provides young people with the opportunity to enter their business idea in a range of competitions throughout the four week challenge, competing nationally against other teams or individuals to win great prizes and feature in the 10X Showcase.
Each team will start with £10, so if you run or work for a business who would like to sponsor a team, all we need is a £10 pledge from you so that your team can get started, with the probability that you will get the £10 back at the end! I will write to parents and carers with more details.