Careers
Article Index
Careers Information and Guidance
Careers Education, Information Advice and Guidance is a vital part of the education of our pupils here at Liverpool College. It fills a large strand within our LC+ Curriculum. We are committed to delivering a full Careers Programme to fulfil the 2018 Government’s Careers Strategy and we work towards fulfilling all the criteria within the Gatsby Benchmarks and the Careers Development Institute Framework for Careers, Employer and Enterprise Education. We work in partnership with the Careers and Enterprise Company and achieved the national Careers Quality Standard Award in October 2019.
Careers’ Staff at College
Mrs J Drew (Careers Lead and Careers Adviser)
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. telephone: 0151 724 4000 ext 3181
Mrs S Doran (STEM Coordinator and Careers, Wilton Scholars)
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Advisors
Ms M Martin Enterprise Co-ordinator, LCR Careers Hub
Mr K Quirk Employer Advisor
The Delivery of Careers Education and Guidance
NSI and Careers
The main vehicle for the delivery of our programme is through our NSI and Careers lessons, which take place on a weekly basis for K3/4 and a fortnightly basis for KS5. Teaching staff have access to their year group channel on TEAMS where all lessons and resources are uploaded each half term.
Employer Masterclasses
Our pupils experience many meaningful Employer encounters. A wide variety of Employers are invited to deliver Masterclasses or workshops. Interested pupils are invited to attend these sessions. Pupils are identified from the results of a pupil survey which highlights their areas of interest. We welcome new employers who would like to work with our students and support our careers programme. Any employers who wish to support strategically can also sign up to become an Enterprise Adviser.
CAREERPILOT
Liverpool College has invested in Careerpilot online as we feel the site provides sophisticated testing and profiles to initiate thinking and to form a basis for conversation during individual careers interviews provided by the College.
Careerpilot holds expert careers information and tools for 11-19 yr olds and students will all have their account for life. During NSI and Personal Development the students will complete career profiles, a skills profile and have the opportunity to research further education, training and employment.
Careerpilot also provides detailed Labour Market Information (LMI) and an area where pupils can record their progress in school, activities, skills and qualities, volunteering and work experience.
careers guidance; the gatsby benchmarks
In 2013, Gatsby commissioned Sir John Holman to set out what career guidance in England would be like if it were good by international standards, resulting in the Good Career Guidance report. The eight benchmarks set out in the report serve as a framework for improvement in careers provision and have been adopted as part of the Government's Careers Strategy and statutory guidance for schools and colleges.
The eight Gatsby benchmarks of Good Career Guidance are:
1. A stable careers programme
2. Learning from career and labour market information
3. Addressing the needs of each pupil
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
5. Encounters with employers and employees
6. Experiences of workplaces
7. Encounters with further and higher education
8. Personal guidance
In addition, The Careers & Enterprise Company now supports the implementation of the benchmarks in schools and colleges with a national network of support, resources and targeted funding.
individual careers guidance interviews
Liverpool College students have impartial careers guidance interviews at pivotal points during their time at the College. The interviews start at the beginning of the Michaelmas term when Year 11 have their next step interview to discuss their options for post 16. Towards the end of this term Year 9 students have a short guidance interview to discuss their option choices and GCSE pathway. Finally our Year 12 students are all interviewed in the Lent term to discuss their post 18 options. Careers guidance is not limited to these year groups and any student can request a careers guidance interview by speaking to their House Mentor or Mrs Drew in C13.
INDEPENDENT CAREERS ADVICE
Although employed by the College, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.our Careers Adviser, ensures that all guidance is presented in an impartial manner, showing no bias or favouritism towards any particular institution, education or work option. Information is shared on a wide range of education or training options, including apprenticeships and technical education routes. Guidance is given to promote the bests interests of the student who recieve it.
STEM
Our pupils experience a vast range of activities and competitions. Click here to view Careers and STEM LC+ overview to see the full range of activities offered.
Special Events
These include a Careers Fair (Year 7-13), Mock Interviews (Year 11), Alternative Providers Event (Year 9) and visits to university and employers throughout the year. We also have school based events for National Careers Week in March each year.
Wilton Scholars
A wide variety of Career related activities are undertaken by our Gifted and Talented pupils. Click here to view the Wilton Scholars Programme.
Work Experience
Year 12 pupils carry out a block of 8 days work experience at a work placement of their choice.
All students are encouraged to secure work experience and with the Covid 19 pandemic ,there are more opportunities than ever for our students to complete valuable work experience virtually. The College has built links with Speakers For Schools, Springpod and Uptree to offer our students the best virtual work experience, free of charge.
Liverpool College also has a partnership with InvestIn which offers life changing, immersive careers programmes for students aged 12-18. As a partner school we have 10 bursaries a year to offer to our students who fit the egibility criteria who get to experience as many of these high quality, certificated experiences as they want, within the academic year. Any student can apply and pay for one of InvestIn's careers programmes independently of College and we have a 10% discount code for use. Below is the summer program information availbale to our students
Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.for further information.
Visits
Pupils experience a range of visits throughout the year to various places of employment including Land Rover Jaguar and universities such as the University of Liverpool.
Lessons
We include Career Education, Information and Guidance, within our lessons, linking subject learning to the world of work.
Careers Information and Guidance for Pupils
Entitlement statement:
It is the policy of this College that all pupils should be given the opportunity to:
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Know and understand themselves better and develop their capabilities
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Investigate education, training and career opportunities
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Implement their career plans by making informed choices, in a supportive atmosphere, about their own continuing education and training.
Click here to view what each year group should expect within the Careers Education, Information and Guidance Programme.
In Year 7-13 all pupils are expected to use Careerpilot to carry out career profiling and career research. In addition pupils should use the Log in facility to record skills and qualities, progress and targets, activities undertaken and volunteering and work experience.
The main two websites that are very useful to our pupils are:
Careerpilot Careerpilot
Success at Schools. www.successatschool.org
National Careers Service helpline for students
National Careers Service free helpline – 0800 100 900 - is open from 8am to 10pm every day and you are more than welcome to get in touch with trained advisers, to ask any questions you may have about your child’s education or career opportunities. Callers to the helpline will have direct access to experienced careers advisers who can advise on all the different options available to them, including A levels, GCSEs, BTECs, apprenticeships and other vocational options. Other support will be available on topics such as clearing, university, gap years, moving away from home and re-sits.
The National Careers Service is available for anyone aged 13+ providing advice and information on a range of topics including careers, education, employment and training/apprenticeships.
The National Careers website has a range of contact channels which are accessible to all; they offer a free online chat with an adviser, you can send an email, text or arrange a call-back and they also have minicom (for customers who are deaf or have hearing difficulties).
Your child can complete a free Skills Health Check test through our website which will suggest specific job sectors they may be suited to, based on their skills and strengths.
They can also research their career ideas using our popular job profile.
Careers Information and Employers
We are very grateful to our Enterprise Co-ordinator from the Liverpool City Region Careers Hub @LCRCareersEnt and our link Employer.
We are also indebted to our Employers who deliver our Masterclasses.
If you are interested in visiting the college and providing Education, Information and Guidance to our pupils please contact Mrs S Doran This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Other Useful Websites
TRANSITION SUPPORT
Local council support for students with SEND
APPRENTICESHIPS
Apprenticeship Assessment Centres
Apprenticeship Interview Questions
T-LEVELS
UNIVERSITY AND UCAS ADVICE
Clearing for the Confused Parents start here
Degree Courses: Academic v. Vocational
How to Write an Effective UCAS Personal Statement
University and Your Future: Career Planning and Making the Most of Your Degree
DEGREE APPRENTICESHIPS
What is a degree apprenticeship?
Degree apprenticeship information and vacancies
Degree apprenticeship vacancies
CAREERS ADVICE
Student resource: Spring into success careers roadmap
USEFUL LINKS FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS
Protection against extremism
http://educateagainsthate.com/parents/
Department for Education Website
Compare Schools Performance Tables
Local Authority Website
ONLINE SAFETY
http://www.childnet.com/parents-and-carers/hot-topics
http://www.parentalguidance.org.uk/
FURTHER EDUCATION
LOCAL UNIVERSITIES
Liverpool John Moores University
LABOUR MARKET INFORMATION
Liverpool Enterprise Partnership
Parental Guidance
Parental Guidance is another useful website written by members of the Careers Writers Association. The Association consists of highly experienced careers writers of articles, books and web-based materials for the 14-25 age group. Many are also experienced and qualified careers advisers who have worked in schools, colleges and universities in the UK as well as overseas. Do visit the Find a careers writer pages for more details including special writing interests, and the wide range organisations who have commissioned our work.
General Advice
The most important thing you can offer is the knowledge of where to find the right information, so you can do the research into their options together.
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To begin with, it’s important your child knows what are their strengths, their skills and abilities. You will undoubtedly know what they are good at but it’s difficult to recognise your own skills and strengths. You can use the Skills Health Check test on the National Careers website to help your child become more aware of their strengths, weakness and career sectors they may be suited to.
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The Skills Health Check is a great starting point and can help your child with researching specific career sectors and understanding more about themselves as an individual. It’s important to remember that any careers related test you take is purely meant as a guide.
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The career choices which the test may offer up can be researched further on the ‘Job Profile’ pages. The National Careers Service have over 800 different types of career options, from gardener to graphic designer and everything in between! Each one explains which skills and qualifications you need to get into that job. You can also read about what the work would be like, the average salary you could expect and what the career prospects might be.
One of the most popular search methods for the Job profiles is through the ‘Job Families’ list. This groups similar jobs into one area so you can browse all the different jobs within this field. For example, if your child knows they want to work with animals but isn’t sure what jobs are available, you can look through the profiles for a vet, a kennel worker, a Police dog handler, a farm worker or even a beekeeper!
Benefits of Parental Involvement
Children have better self-esteem, are more self-disciplined, and show higher aspirations and motivation toward school. Children tend to achieve more, regardless of ethnic or racial background, socioeconomic status, or parents' education level. Children generally achieve better grades, test scores, and have better attendance. Research indicates that when students feel supported and loved by their parents, they have more confidence in their own ability to research careers and to choose a career that would be interesting and exciting.
Choices after GCSEs
The choices, which your child makes after completing their GCSEs, are dependent on a number of different factors including their own ambitions, the opportunities offered locally (see Local Labour Market Information link below) and the grades they have achieved.
These choices will really allow your child to tailor their own education and study towards subjects they feel passionate about and allow them to gain the knowledge and experience needed to progress onto their desired career path.
When thinking about steps after compulsory education, it’s important to keep in mind that there is no one size fits all style of education and that everyone learns in different ways. There is no right or wrong or better or worse but with the raising of the participation age coming into effect, this now means your child needs to stay in some form of education or training until their 18th birthday.
Education until their 18th birthday isn’t quite what it sounds; in-fact school leavers have a range of choices:
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1. To stay in full time education working towards, A-levels, BTEC, NVQ or an alternative level 1/2/3 qualification at a local college or sixth form.
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2. An apprenticeship.
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3. A traineeship with the idea of progressing onto an apprenticeship or education.
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4. Employment or Volunteering of 20 hours a week whilst working towards an accredited qualification part time with the study hours adding up to 280 guided learning hours over the course of a year.
Links
Apprenticeships - a parents' guide
NCS Parents Guide - Apprenticeships
NCS Parents Guide - University and Finances
Labour Market Information - Liverpool, Cumbria and Lancashire.pdf