Staff

A team of 12 teachers and a DEL Careers Officer are involved in the provision of Careers and Employability. In addition, non-specialist teachers have important roles to play at Key Stage 3 and 4, where Careers and Employability are also incorporated as a cross-curricular theme.

Location

Careers and Employability facilities are divided between the Careers Counselling rooms, used for individual or small group guidance; the Careers Centre (annexed to the College library), used by individual students to access Careers information; and the Careers Classroom (R13), where the majority of classes are taught.  

Careers and Employability – Lessons

The ‘DOTS’ objectives (Decision-Making Skills, Opportunity Awareness, Transition Skills and Self-awareness) of Careers run through time-tabled provision for all year groups. From Year 8 to 14, all students have one compulsory period per week of time-tabled Careers or Employability. It is delivered through the framework of a scheme of work for each year group, and students are given booklets of information and work sheets related to the lessons.   

In Years 8-10, the CCEA Employability course is taught with its emphasis on pupil-centred learning and preparing young people for life after school. In addition to the normal weekly Careers lesson, all Key Stage 4 pupils will be studying the CCEA GCSE Learning for Life and Work course, of which Employability is a key component. Employability incorporates four key dimensions: 

• Work in the Local and Global Economy
• Career Management
• Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
• Skills and Qualities for Work

Careers Guidance

Careers staff advise on all aspects of subject and career choice, and guidance is offered to both class groups and individuals. GCSE and A-/AS-level Option Books are produced annually to help students make their subject choices. All students within Years 10, 12 and 13 are individually interviewed before they choose their GCSEs, A-/AS-levels and higher/further education options. In addition, individual guidance on GCSE and A-/AS-level subject choice is given to students and parents via Option Days in the second term. Careers staff are also available to students and parents after the publication of GCSE and A-/AS-level exam results, and at parent-teacher meetings.  

Personal Career Planning

From Year 10 onwards, students are required to produce realistic individual career plans. Sixth Form students are encouraged to participate in the Centigrade Higher Education programme, to help them to investigate their higher education options, and to crystallize their ideas into action plans.  

Experiences of Work

In early February, Year 13 students participate in our annual work experience scheme. Further periods of work experience are also encouraged at appropriate times, especially for 6^th form students. A Careers Convention is held in the College every second year. In the alternate years, students are encouraged to participate in the Convention organized by our local business-education partnership.  

The Careers Library

Careers information is located centrally in the Careers annex to the MainCollege library, and it is accessible from 8.30am to 4.45pm on a daily basis. The information is regularly up-dated and there is a relatively high level of annual expenditure on new books. Students are instructed on how to search for careers information, and library staff are available to deal with inquiries.   

Careers Information and Guidance Computer Software

ICT is vitally important to successfully addressing the objectives of the Careers programme. Careers staff guide students on how to use careers software and the students are then encouraged to work independently both in their class and non-class time. Some of the computer software used includes:

 -  Pathfinder : combines psychometric assessment of interests within a job matching facility.

-   Odyssey : primarily a job database.

-   Probe : an interactive questionnaire used by junior students to match their interests with potential careers.

-   Streets Ahead : an interactive multimedia program that looks at skills, subjects and careers.

-   Careers Match : Questionnaire to help students choose suitable careers

The Internet is widely used by students as a source of careers information, and Careers staff have book marked many of the more useful sites for easy student access.