My Great First Job

It's been a 'Wellingborough Kind of Day'......which meant it has also been a really good kind of day! The day kicked off at Weavers Academy with an Assembly for year 12 and 13 students about Degree Apprenticeships 🎓. Loads of questions afterwards from students wanting more info! ☕️ A quick coffee break and then.... Onto Wrenn School for the 3rd session of Project 13 - My Great First Job's programme to support A Level students who are applying for Degree Apprenticeships. This session was all about Personal Branding - specifically getting some relevant content onto students' CVs to help them successfully navigate stage 1 of their applications. I hadn't realised until afterwards that it wasn't just a Wellingborough Day...it was also a Creative Education Trust Day as both schools are part of the same Multi Academy Trust...and Abbeyfield School in Northampton...another member of the trust.... emailed on the same day to book their sessions! Huge thanks to Aspire Higher for supporting our work at these schools. #Wellingborough #DegreeApprenticeships #uniconnect

You want to know all about Christmas Trees🎄? …well thanks to our Student Personal Branding Webinar you now can!! 👇 A couple of weeks ago we ran our free webinar, ‘Personal Branding - How Students Can Showcase Their Skills’. 195 young people and parents joined us live, with another 316 registering for the recording. We looked at free courses, different ways of using social media, organisations to join, talks and podcasts to check out, volunteering opportunities, online work experiences and a whole bunch more. 📣 The feedback was great…..but the BEST feedback is when you hear back from young people who have seized an idea💡they picked up in the session and run with it. And that’s just what Luke has done. Luke is looking for a land-based/geography focused apprenticeship after his A levels. He currently helps out on his parents Christmas Tree 🎄Farm. Inspired by some of the social-media examples we shared on the webinar, Luke has started an Instagram page to keep everyone all up to date with the Christmas Trees he’s nurturing. It’s on Instagram @luke_merrichristmastrees, or you can check it out here - https://lnkd.in/eprJJ8ae His challenge is to plant and care for 1000 Christmas Trees….for the next 6 years! Give his account a ‘follow’ to encourage him...and learn all about Christmas Trees! You can already see the challenges he’s facing with the wet weather and a stuck tractor 🚜! And if you work in a land-based career, maybe message him on Instagram and offer him the opportunity to have a chat with you about what you do. You can click through to access a link to the session recording. Teachers - feel free to share this with your students. #personalbranding #christmastree #careers #sixthform

A huge thank you to Dale Willis from My Great First Job who has been working with our Year 13 students. The sessions he delivered on creating a personal brand, curating a professional LinkedIn profile, and navigating the search and application process for degree apprenticeships have been incredibly valuable. Dale's experience and insights have inspired our students to take the next steps in their career journey with confidence and I am sure the knowledge and skills they have gained will give them a competitive edge in today's competitive job market! #careers #degreeapprenticeships #personalbranding #BSiL #NewHallSchool

UPDATE 3/12: wow! I have an offer of the help I need - who says LinkedIn doesn’t work? Help needed! Did you read History and/or Politics at Oxford? I have a Y13 from a small state school who has an Oxford interview next week. The 6th form team are looking for someone to give her 30mins by teams to talk about what to expect, boost her confidence. Could you, or someone you know, spare that time? Could make all the difference! Shout out to my #network

😮💨 Phew!! …now that was a busy week! Project 13 got underway at Wrenn School with where we helped Year 13 students get their CVs🧑🏻💻 ready for Apprenticeship Applications. Tuesday evening was our free careers webinar, “How To Absolutely SMASH Your Interview’ - 179 young people and parents watched ‘live’ and a further 285 registered for the recording 🎬. At Bedford Modern School we delivered a ’Top Tops For Securing a Degree Apprenticeship’ session…..covering CVs, Personal Branding 💡 and Interview Skills. Then it was a short trip to Biddenham International School & Sports College for another Project 13 CV 💻 session with their Year 13 students. Project 13 was launched at Abbeyfield School on Thursday with an assembly on Degree Apprenticeships 🎓...and great to showcase some of their ex-students who secured Degree Apprenticeship last year! Thursday afternoon was all about ‘How To Find 🔎 Great Work Experience Opportunities’ at Sponne School in Towcester. Back to Bedfordshire on Friday for a Project 13 Degree Apprenticeship 🎓assembly at Bedford Academy (UK). Friday afternoon wrapped up in Milton Keynes at Walton High, Milton Keynes with a session on ‘How To Smash 👊 Your Interview’ as part of the school’s Apprenticeship support for students....and this is where the week was scheduled to finish. I say ‘scheduled to finish’ as I hadn’t factored in leaving my laptop charger at Bedford Academy in the morning, 😩 so the week finished with a drive from Milton Keynes to Bedford, before making my way back to Northampton. Throughout the week I also had a bunch of 1-2-1 mentoring calls, and had the pleasure of joining the online staff meeting at Greater Essex Careers Hub to share our work. Huge thanks to Aspire Higher in Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire for their support with ‘Project 13’ - levelling the playing field for 6th Form students who are applying for Apprenticeships, by giving them access to practical support. Thanks also to Careers Hub East Sussex for sponsoring this week’s webinar - How To Absolutely SMASH Your Interview. Thanks to Joanne Bolton, Helen Jones, Shelley Cadman, Carla Dufty, Ann Warner, Julie McMillan and Donna Montague for making me so welcome in each of the schools.

Businesses today are sometimes facing challenges when it comes to recruiting people with the right skills: Some employers engage in Careers Education reactively, responding to requests without aligning activities to their organisational goals. Building longer-term partnerships between employers, careers hubs and schools/ colleges is not only more effective but also likely to be more sustainable.    The Employer Standards for Careers Education provide a rigorous framework for businesses to assess and improve their outreach. Employers can use it to plan, connect and engage meaningfully with young people. You can help embed these standards. If you are involved in school/ college careers outreach for your company in the West of England and nationwide please can you use the tool yourself. If another person leads at your company ask them to complete a self assessment. Please share it with others in your network to expand its impact. https://lnkd.in/gYzJvfWf The Careers & Enterprise Company Suzy Wright Gemma Perkins Vikki Wherlock Sally Larkin Alexandra Chapel Sophie Blything Marnie Bourne Julie Ilogu Ladi Mohammed-Chapman🤝West of England Combined Authority Kelly Ann Spicer Ian Browne Paul Anslow Chris Bull Samantha Lee Edward Locke Abdul Bathin Somerset Careers Hub Rob Morrish Swindon & Wiltshire Careers Hub Rob Pickup Mark Davies

North Leamington School need your help !! It’s Year 11 Mock interview time again for the school and the students on 26th November and they are on the look out for a few more volunteers to get involved on the day. The day is from 8.45am till 3.15pm and they will provide questions to be used on the day so no preparation is required. Refreshments and lunch will be also be provided. Please email Sharon at the school if you can help - careers@northleamington.co.uk Warwickshire Careers Hub Warwickshire Skills Hub