Careers
Overview of Careers and Employment Education, Information, Advice and Guidance by month in 2015-166
General Careers Advice
If you would like some careers advice you can email Simon Blundell, our impartial and independent careers advisor and book an appointment. You should also become familiar with the National Careers Service website. The National Careers Service provides information, advice and guidance to help you make decisions on learning, training and work opportunities. The service offers confidential and impartial advice which is supported by qualified careers advisers.
The National Careers Service website go
Offers impartial careers advice on a range of topics such as choosing the right course, improving employability skills and career planning. Click on the links below to explore the website.
To contact the National Careers Service follow this link
You can then access free and impartial advice by phone, email, online or by post, whichever you prefer.
For career advice about any of the topics below follow this link
To start your career journey follow this link and select your year group
To use any of the career tools such as developing your CV, click on this link
You can find out more information about the types of jobs in an industry, the qualifications and skills needed, the typical tasks involved and the possible financial rewards. Click on the links below to explore the career area:
Information about Different Careers
Marketing, selling and advertising
Performing arts, broadcast and media
Retail sales and customer service
Security and uniformed services
Storage, dispatching and delivery
Administrative and clerical work
Information technology and information management
Maintenance, service and repair
Advice for Year 9 pupils
Until now, you have not had a choice about what you study. However, when you choose your options, you start to take more control, and have some choice about your subjects.
It’s never too early to start thinking about your career. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what job or career you want in the future but it is useful to be aware of what you like doing and what you’re good at. This can help you if you choose subjects that might be useful, and avoid missing a subject you might need later on.
There is a lot of advice and guidance available at CTK to help you make choices that are right for you. There will be two guidance lessons with a member of the CIAG team where you will explore how to make good choices, where you can get advice from, what the options pathways mean and information about the subjects that are offered.
You will receive an Options Booklet that gives details about the pathways in Key Stage 4 and the courses that are offered. Some subjects that you have not studied before such as Business, Media and Travel and Tourism will present information in an assembly and you will have an opportunity to ‘taste’ these lessons on Y9 Taster Day. There will be an Options Evening where you and your parents can speak to subject teachers about their courses.
You can access more information by clicking here
Before you make your choices, explore some of the occupation links below – by looking at jobs you might be interested in, you can see what skills, qualities and qualifications you need to do this work. You can also get an overview of the typical tasks involved in this work to see if you might like it.
The National Careers Service offers the following advice:
How your option choices affect your future
A levels:
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some A levels need a GCSE in the same subject - for example, art or French
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A level maths requires the GCSE Higher tier
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taking maths or a language early may result in a lower grade than if you did it in Y11 – could be a problem if you want to study these at A level where a ‘B’ is usually needed.
BTECs:
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BTEC stands for Business and Technology Education Council and they offer vocational qualifications in areas such as engineering, and health and social care
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you can do a BTEC, equivalent to one or two GCSEs, alongside other GCSEs
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a BTEC equivalent to four GCSEs may restrict you to vocational subjects in sixth form
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you need dual award science or separate sciences to study A level sciences.
University:
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most university degrees require five GCSEs grade A-C including maths and English – some will accept alternatives, others may not – so aim for this number of GCSEs if you can
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primary teaching degrees require GCSE science as well as maths and English (plus two others) and some want grade ‘B’ in one of these, and some say a language is ‘desirable’
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a language is also useful for accountancy, air cabin crew, computer games testing, and fashion.
Bear these in mind when choosing:
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no subjects are ‘easy’ – find out exactly what you’ll be studying if you’re unsure
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choosing subjects just because your friends are doing them isn’t a good idea – they may have different aims than you – and you may well be put in different sets.
Advice for Year 11 pupils
In June 2016 you will officially leave secondary education. You then have a choice about what to do next. You can:
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Apply to Sixth Form/College to further your qualifications
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Apply for an Apprenticeship
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Seek employment with accredited training
The government has raised the education participation age to 18 and has made it compulsory for you to continue learning English and Mathematics until you achieve a grade C or equivalent.
Where can you study?
Sixth Form at CTK – CTK offers a range of subjects at AS/ALevel and/or BTEC. We do not offer Level 1 or 2 courses. There will be an assembly that outlines all of the choices as well as a Sixth Form Information Evening on 4th November. There will also be a taster day where you can sample life as a member of sixth form and sample lessons to help you make your choices.
College such as KGV, Southport, Hugh Baird, Runshaw - Courses offered at college depends on the type of college. Course will range from Foundation level to Level 3 and cover a wide range of subjects which can be academic (AS/A’ Levels), broadly Vocational such as (BTEC), or can be industry expected such as NVQ, CISCO etc.
UTC/Studio School - If you are interested in a career in Science then it is worth looking at the UTC website. This is a University School based in Liverpool City Centre and uses university and hospital resources. It offers A’ Levels/BTEC at level 3. If you are interested in gaming and digital technology you should look at the Liverpool Studio School. It offers A’ Levels in subjects ranging from Computing to Economics to Creative Media. It is based in Liverpool City Centre and has links with digital technology businesses.
Apprenticeships - An apprenticeship is where you combine work and training, leading to a qualification. You get paid (minimum is £2.78 per hour, approx. £90 per week) You will need to apply for apprenticeships (there are lots of competition for each one) as they are only available when there is a genuine vacancy in a business. You should search online (apprenticeships.org.uk), look in local papers, look in the Job Centre or ask employers directly if they are recruiting apprentices.
What should you do now …..
Think about subjects you might be interested in, research what they involve, how long they last for, how and when they are assessed. Always check entry requirements carefully, colleges usually have a general entry requirement but individual subjects sometimes have additional requirements
Look at websites/prospectuses from institutions offering courses in these subjects. These will give you more information about the college as well as the subjects
Find out when the closing dates for applications are – even if you miss the deadline for applications, you can still apply.
Find out when Open Evenings and taster sessions are – keep an eye on the local press, we do not always get told when Open Evenings are
Discuss choices and alternatives with your parents/guardians and with Simon Blundell. You will receive a transition interview with Simon before the end of the Autumn term so that you can discuss your plans. You can also request an urgent appointment by emailing Simon or if you have a question/questions, Simon operates a drop in service every lunchtime and after school in his office. You do not need an appointment for this, just come along
Watch for the Careers Talks that take place each month. These talks offer advice about a particular job/career and are given by people who are currently working in that sector. If you want to attend a talk, let your Form Teacher know or email Simon Blundell directly. Talks planned so far include: apprenticeships, retail, construction, medicine, health and caring services, sport and leisure, tax and accountancy. If there is a sector that you are interested in and would like a talk to be arranged, email Simon and we will try to organise this
Advice for Sixthform pupils
Not going to uni?
If you decide not to apply to university there are many options available to you. You should start by looking at the National Careers Service website where you can use these career tools to plan your career, build your CV and identify skills that you still need to develop.
If you are not sure what job you would like or would be good at you could try this careers explorer for some ideas - http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/explorer.htm
You could also follow the link to careers information and explore types of work. (need to hyperlink here)
Looking for jobs
If you want to seek employment there are many different ways to search and apply for jobs. You need to make sure that you have an up-to-date CV and that you tailor it to each job that you apply for. You should also have a cover letter that is also tailored. If you need advice about CVs or Cover Letters click here (hyperlink to resource drive needed)
You should look in the local and regional papers such as the Southport Visiter and the Liverpool Echo which will advertise current vacancies.
You should also regularly check the universal job match website where you can also apply for Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) if you are eligible.
There are many recruitment agencies where you can register, such as MCL resourcing http://www.mclresourcing.co.uk/ or Caterforce http://www.cfglobal.co.uk/ Recruitment agencies can be a useful source of job vacancies. Some employers carry out their main recruiting through agencies, so signing up can give you access to jobs that are not advertised elsewhere.
You can try some of the many job sites that advertise employment opportunities. Here are some of them (listing of the website is not an endorsement by CTK)
Apprenticeships
Apprenticeships are jobs that also include training. As employees, apprentices earn a wage and work alongside experienced staff to gain job-specific skills. Apprentices also receive training and work towards nationally recognised qualifications. The main advantages of an apprenticeship are:
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you will work better and more effectively
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it can set you up to move into new and better jobs
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you can get better pay than if you didn’t have an apprenticeship
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you get to experience new and different challenges
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your existing skills and knowledge are recognised and developed
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you gain skills and knowledge which can be used across a range of jobs and industries.
Apprenticeship wage rates
The current 'apprentice National Minimum Wage' is currently £2.73 per hour as per October 2014 and will increase to £3.30 per hour in October 2015. However, as skills develop, many employers tend to increase wages – in fact, research has found that apprentices earn an average of £170 net pay per week. The apprentice 'National Minimum Wage' applies to all 16 to 18 year olds and to those aged 19 and over in the first year of their Apprenticeship. If you reach age 19 and have completed the first year of your Apprenticeship your employer must pay you at least the 'full National Minimum Wage' rate for those aged 18 to 20 (£5.13 from October 2014)
When can you start an apprenticeship?
You can apply at any time of year, whenever vacancies arise or when you can get an employer to take you on. The selection process is just like any other job application process. Individuals are put through a series of interviews, and in some cases, tests, to establish if they are the right fit for the role.
How will you know about an apprenticeship opportunity?
The National Apprenticeship Service also runs Apprenticeships vacancies. This is an online system whereby employers and learning providers can advertise and manage vacancies, and potential apprentices can search, apply and then manage their applications for Apprenticeships. The system is free and available on the Apprenticeships website at: www.apprenticeships.org.uk
There are regular apprenticeship talks at CTK, make sure you are aware of when they take place and try to attend them.
Level 3 Recruitment (Some businesses call this graduate recruitment)
Some firms recognise that students finishing level 3 courses such as A Levels or BTEC have the right skills and ambition for employment but don’t want to go to university. These businesses have their own recruitment and training schemes which are aimed at students finishing their level 3 courses. Although they tend to be in retail, accountancy and law, companies such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, PWC, GE, Nationwide, Rolls Royce, British Airways, Network Rail, Vodafone, Unilever, Tesco, Marks and Spencer, Siemens and John Lewis confirmed they were taking on more school leavers this year compared with previous years.
You need to search company websites for such opportunities but you could also follow this link,
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/graduate_job_search.htm and click graduate scheme in ‘Type of work’ box
You could also look for information on the following sites:
www.uniisnotforme.com for more information
Internships
An internship is a fixed limited period of time spent within industry and there are increasing opportunities for internships. Some students complete an internship as a compulsory part of their degree while others choose to do one. Internships can differ with each company, lasting anything from one week to a year and can be part time or full time. As with the length, the payment that is offered for an internship depends on the company. You could receive minimum wage, or you may just have your costs covered or in some cases receive no payment at all.
Usually certain jobs are set aside for interns to do, such as helping with a company project. It is a good way to explore an industry and network to build up your contacts for your future career. There are certain industries where an internship, or unpaid work experience, is the only way in to that work for most people.
For more information and to search for opportunities follow this link:
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/faqs_internship.htm
Some universities also offer internship opportunities such as Birmingham, Nottingham and Salford Universities. Look on individual websites for more information.
http://www.salford.ac.uk/business/employ-students/funded-student-and-graduate-internships
http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/generic/internships/opportunities/index.aspx
Self Employment
Self employment is a growing trend in the UK job market. 426000 people in the north-west and 13.5% of workers in Sefton are currently self employed. Last year, 183000 of the 283000 new jobs added to the economy were on a self employed basis.
It is likely that you could be self employed for some, or most of your working life, not through your choice but because that is how the industry is now structured.
The four most common occupations for self-employment were taxi or cab drivers, ‘other‘ construction trades, carpenters and joiners and farmers however there are now self employed workers in the financial sectors, hospitality and leisure, ICT, health industry, media, arts, sports and fitness, sales, electrical and electronics, vehicle repair, childcare, road transport.
What is self employment?
Self employment is when you employ yourself, it is not the same as having your own business. Self employment means you are responsible for organising your own work, collecting your fees and paying your bills such as tax and national insurance, advertising, telephone etc
What are the advantages of self employment? It give you flexibility and choice, if you don’t want to take on a job/contract or work on a certain day then you don’t have to. You choose how much or how little work you take on.
What are the drawbacks of self employment? Uncertainty is the biggest drawback, you might not get work and have times where you have no work and no money. You wont get holiday or sick pay and you are responsible for producing an annual tax return.
How do you become self employed? Look on the HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs website for lots of advice
www.hmrc.gov.uk/selfemployed/register-selfemp.htm
You can also get good advice on the Citizens Advice website too
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/work/self-employed-or-looking-for-work/
You need to:
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Register with the HMRC
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Network/seek out contacts – tout for work
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Build your reputation
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Decide on your price (wage) it should include your tax and national insurance as well as an amount towards your overheads. Do some research so that you are not charging too much or too little
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If you are not confident to complete your tax return, find an accountant
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Don’t forget that the payment you receive includes your tax and national insurance so make sure you take that amount out and put it away – this is not your income and you have to pay it to HMRC
Contact
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Stamford Road, Southport, Merseyside, PR8 4EX
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T: 01704-565121 F: 01704-550447