Careers

Welcome to the careers section of the school’s website. In this section you will find lots of help and advice and information about careers, skills and what employers are looking for from you. The Careers Manager who is responsible for careers is Mrs Sarah Harden, you can pop in anytime and see her in the careers office opposite room 113 in Trinity building. If you would like to book an appointment to talk about careers, options subjects, Kent Choices, Post 16 options, Apprenticeships, Post 18 choices, work experience or UCAS and university simply drop Mrs Harden an email: sharden@thejohnwallisacademy.org.

Careers at the John Wallis Academy run from year 7 to 13, a programme of activities have been design to equip you with all the up to date information you will need when you leave the academy. Each term you will have careers activities through PHSE, Tutor time as well as separate career activities through workshops and employer engagement. To find out what is happening each term for your year group click this link to look at the career programme.

Unifrog

As an academy we have brought Unifrog, this is a career’s platform that allows you to explore the hundreds of jobs, career opportunities and work experience placements. During tutor time you will be accessing this platform and completing tasks that will help you navigate through the platform. You can access this anywhere and on any device. You are most welcome to look at Unifrog at home and add career ideas to your own personal area to come back and look at after a bit more research. You will be given a login code to access the platform, if you need to reset it or you have forgotten it do see Mrs Harden.

Have a quick look at the website:

www.unifrog.org

You will be able to click on this section and explore different types of careers, like this.

You can also search by subjects.......

Unifrog will help you with choosing your destination choices for your future. The platform will help you applications for work experience, apprenticeships and for universities.

Kent Choices

In year 10 and 11 you will need to start thinking about what you will do after year 11, will I stay on at JW6, go to college or get an apprenticeship. Kent Choices Is a website that allows you to explore what each school and college are offering in terms of courses and opportunities. You will be able search by subjects or by an area or by a school or college. Once you have decided what you would like to do, we use Kent Choices to make those applications. These applications are sent directly to the schools and colleges and they arrange an interview to go and have a look at the course and speak to the tutors. Once an offer has been made to you this will appear in your Kent Choices for you to go in accept. You can also use Kent Choices to look at events that are happening, open evenings, career fairs as well as apprenticeship information.

Have a look at the website:

www.kentchoices.co.uk

Your will be able to search here for any school, sixth form, college course.

You can then explore the course in more detail.

The Level 2 Beauty Therapy program will give you the foundations of Beauty Therapy. You will develop an understanding of the requirements for Beauty Therapy through practical assessments and theory examinations. You will study a wide range of units including; Health and safety, facials, waxing, manicure, pedicure and completing an industrial placement. This qualification is internally and externally assessed through Practical assessments, external Online/written exams and assignments. On successful completion of the programme you will gain a Level 2 VTCT Certificate in Beauty Therapy

Entry requirements

Achievement of an appropriate Level 1 qualification or GCSE grades 3/D and above including English or maths at a grade 4/C or above.

You can also find what entry requirements you need to get on the course.

School’s and colleges will put on their open events on Kent Choices too.

Once you have made your decision you will use Kent Choices to apply directly to the school or college. You will be given a login code to create your own profile where you can put your personal details and make your application.

Apprenticeships

An Apprenticeship is an excellent way of earning whilst learning. You can get an apprenticeship in a variety of different sectors and jobs. There are over 1500 different types of apprenticeships. As an apprentice you will work a minimum of 30 hours to 40 hours a week, get paid for these hours and one day a week you will be expected to either go to college or attend a training provider’s centre to obtain a qualification. Currently the minimum wage for an apprentice who is 16 is £6.40 per hour. However, most companies will pay much more that the minimum wage.

To find out about the different types of apprenticeship available click on this link for an A to Z Guide.

A to Z Guide of ApprenticeshipsMost vacancies will be advertised on the Government Website www.gov.uk  however there are other very good websites to look at:

https://notgoingtouni.co.uk

www.careermap.co.uk

www.prospectus.co.ukwww.findapprenticeship.service.gov.ukwww.kta.co.uk

Most companies that provide an apprenticeship programmes will also advertise on their own websites. You can normally find these under their career page like this one for example:

You can also look at this link to explore various large corporate companies and explore the own apprenticeship programmes in depth.

https://amazingapprenticeships.com/vacancies/

 

Some of the most excellent apprenticeship are in the armed forces such as the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force. They all offer a host of amazing apprenticeships in subjects like catering, engineering, weapon design, aerospace, medical. The starting salary if around £22,000 a year, you will do the first 12 weeks basic soldier training and then you will be sent off to a college that specialise in the area you have chosen. Your accommodation and food is all paid for and the opportunity to travel the world are endless.

For more information about these apprenticeships click on the links below:

Army – https://jobs.army.mod.uk/regular-army/what-you-get/apprenticeships-skills/

Navy - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/careers/joining-options/apprenticeships

RAF - https://recruitment.raf.mod.uk/apprenticeships

Here are some webinar from the army talking about communications and weapons

https://amazingapprenticeships.com/resources/ - search Army Webinar and have a look at the various topics.

Apprenticeships are very popular and in order to succeed you will need to be the best you can be. This means getting good grades, attending school regularly, getting a good school report and even doing something out of school such as a sport, scouts, volunteering, online learning something that makes you stand out from a crowd. If you are interested in apprenticeships start looking at what skills they are asking for in their adverts and make sure you have those skills or you can start to develop them.

For further advice on how to get an apprenticeship click on the link below or pop into the careers office.

https://amazingapprenticeships.com/apprenticeships/

College                         

East Kent Group known as EKC run all the colleges in Kent. The nearest college to the academy is Ashford College followed closely by Canterbury. The group also has Dover, Folkstone, Broadstairs. Each college has a variety of courses, and some campuses have bigger better facilities.  It is a good idea to go and visit them and ask each one about the course you wish to do and see which college suits your needs.

College is very different to school, for a start you will only go part time, this could be 3 days a week or 1 and a half days depending on the course. IF you do not manage to get a 4 in English and Maths then you will need to re-take this at college so this can add another day to your week.

There is no uniform at college unless you are doing a course such as hair and beauty where you will be expected to wear a uniform.

You will be able to come na dgo during the day and go out of the college for lunch, the college will also have some great leisure facilities to use such as pool tables, café and soft seating areas to work and rest.

Below are some of the vocational courses you can apply for:

Accounting

Automotive

Barbering

Bookkeeping

Catering

Creative Writing

Creative Graphic and IT

Electrical Installation

Engineering

Early Years

Graphic Design

Hair & Beauty

Health & Social Care

IT

Photography

Plumbing

Plastering

Click here for a full list of subjects at college:

Ashford - https://www.ashfordcollege.ac.uk/study-with-us/

Canterbury - https://www.canterburycollege.ac.uk/courses/

Broadstairs - https://www.broadstairscollege.ac.uk/study-with-us/

Folkestone - https://www.folkestonecollege.ac.uk/

Labour Marketing Information

What does this mean?

Learning from career and labour market information - Every pupil, and their parents, should have access to good-quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities. They will need the support of an informed adviser to make best use of available information.

All students should be made aware of, and taught how to research, the up to date national and local careers landscape, including the pathways into the workplace. Additionally, parents/carers should be supported to understand the current and future skills and jobs landscape to ensure they are able to provide up-to-date relevant support for their child.

Ashford Labour Market

In Ashford we will look at what job sectors are key to the development and what sectors are lacking in people employed and how we can have good informed advice about this.

As a school we will look at what job opportunities are available to you for the future and what skills you will need and to develop to be able to get thes jobs.

There are lots of good websites you can look up and research to find out more about labour market and these are listed here. We will also talk about this subject in PHSE lessons so you can understand this in more depth.

Useful Websites

In this section you will find useful websites that may help you explore the world of careers and help you discover new ways of researching about careers. Click on the links below and start exploring:

file:///C:/Users/SHarden/Downloads/Toolkit%20Resource%20Careers%20Websites%20(1).pdf

How can i provide a supportive home career learning environment?

Whilst a lot of their learning happens during lessons at school, please don’t forget that you also play an important part in your child's learning.  Encourage them to do their homework as well as spend time doing activities together. 

Is there something that you were good at school which you can share with them or help them with in their studies?  Are there things that you can do at the weekends/evenings which will help them in their learning and/or get them thinking about the Career that they would like?  These also help them prepare for life in the wider world.  

Whilst is it good to have ambitions to 'get a jobs which earns loads of money', are they studying the right subjects to get where they want to get too? Do they know how to budget the money they earn? what qualifications do they need? Do they have a good daily routine and work ethic?

At school we can help with some of those but some of those they can learn from examples given at home. By using websites such as the national career service, together you can explore the world of careers and look at what careers are in which sectors, what qualifications will they need and how they can get into them. Sharing this wonderful journey together will really enable your child to make their next best step.

 

HELPING YOUR CHILD WITH CAREERS

As your children progress through school and start looking ahead to a life after education, it can be difficult for parents and carers to know how to help them navigate the confusing world of career options. 

For many of us, the ultimate challenge is knowing how to offer support without projecting our own career aspirations onto our children.  And with so much change – from new apprenticeship schemes, emerging technologies, political and environmental upheaval– parents can feel in need of a guiding hand themselves.

As an academy we use a career platform called Unifrog which all our students use in tutor time. This platform can be used any where and on any platform, which means students can use it with you at home. We also use a programe called Kemt Choices in year 10 and 11 which helps students with their destinations, again this can be accessed from home so together you will be able to look at post 16 options.

You’ll find that if you just help them to focus on career paths that are connected to their skills and interests, this will be a good start. Follow these step by step tips on supporting your child with their careers choices:

Another way of talking to your child is to start a conversation and use these steps:

• Focus on skills and behaviour your child will need, rather than specific jobs.
• Talk about goals and what your child finds fulfilling.
• Be open minded and encouraging.
• Talk about what careers experiences your child has had at school (lessons, visits, tutor time, citizenship and assemblies).

Employers

As an academy we work with local businesses who want to support our students learning about the world of work and how they can prepare for it. Currently we have over 50 local companies that attend regular events the careers team run in school to build these relationships.

These businesses offer our students, employer talks about what their companies do and how to get into the sector, what skills employers are looking for and how to develop them, workshops on various topics such as selling your own self-worth, resilience building and communication skills. These employers are also offering our sixth form students who are studying T-Levels’s a work placement one day a week for 45 days year. The employers have also offered us work visits to go and see them and explore what they do in person which will allow the students to clearly understand what employers actually do.

These employers are also offering our students apprenticeship opportunities and access to their own apprenticeship programme. BY working with the academy it gives our students a good head start in the application process.

Networking with these companies at various local events gets the academy’s name out into the Ashford and surrounding areas bringing in more local businesses.

Do you work for a local company that may wish to join this wonderful group of people? If so email our careers manager Mrs Harden: sharden@thejohnwallisacademy.org

 

 

 

Researching Careers

When talking about careers with your child it is hard to know where to start looking.

The best website to start looking would be the national careers service:-

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/

This website will allow you to search either a particular career, by sector or even alphabectally.

Click here to view over 800 profiles.

Click on an area that you want to explore:

This will show you all the jobs in this area:

You can then click on a job for further information

You can then dig deeper to see how you become an Aerospace engineer, what qualifications will I need,

You can also look at if you can get an apprenticeship too….

Apprenticeship

You could do a Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship to begin your career in the aerospace industry. Apprenticeships include:

• Aerospace Engineer
• Aerospace Software Engineer
• Electro-Mechanical Engineer
• Materials Science Technologist

Some employers may offer other types of engineering apprenticeships, for example, a Power and Propulsion Gas Turbine Engineer Level 7 Degree Apprenticeship.

You'll combine workplace learning with study for a degree at university.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship

There are lots of really good websites to have a look at so please do go and explore together. We have put together a list of useful websites for you both to look at.

T-Levels are a qualification that were designed by employers for employers. They are equalivant to 3 A-Levels are a mixture of academy study and work experience. Depending on the subjects students will have roughly 1 day a week work experience within a company that is relevant to what  subject they are studying and then have 4 days in school doing the actualy qualification. T-Levels are a great way of getting 3 A-Levels in one subject that you are good at and enjoy instead of doing the usual route of 3 subjects. They are a great way of obtaining work experience that is relevant to the industry and will be seen as 90 days that’s 3 months constinus working within industry.

Universities accept T-Levels as UACS points how many will depend on the final grade obtained.

For further information about T-Levels please click on the links below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-t-levels/introduction-of-t-levels

https://tlevelinfo.org.uk/

https://www.tlevels.gov.uk/students/parents

Kent Choices

Kent Choice is a platform used by all the schools in Kent for year 11 students to search and apply for their next destination. All the schools and colleges will put all their courses they are offering so students can search and apply.

Students are given a login code and password which they use to create their own personal profile, from here they can search for opportunities and courses. We support students with this process in school and this can also be done from home if they prefer.

All students will have until roughly March to put in their applications, we do tell them that the earlier the better as many young people will be applying and there are only so many spaces per each course, especially at the local colleges.

Open evening and open days will be advertised on Kent Choices for you to go along to, we recommend you visiting as many as possible to give your child a good idea of what is available to them. Each school or college will offer many different courses and facilities and your child needs to feel comfortable with their decision.

Kent Choices also helps with apprenticeships, how to find them and information on the various levels and types of apprenticeships. IT also hosts webinars for parents to attend free of charge to help you better understand how to support your child through post 16 choices, applying and what happens next.

To best help your child, ask them if they have their login codes and if they have created their personal profile. Ask if they have started to look at opportunities and if they have saved any to their favourites, Ask if they need any help exploring opportunities? Do they want any help with making an application? Instructions on how to search and apply can be found in the student section on the career website.

If they are struggling with any of the above or would like to have a chat with our careers team, get them to pop into the careers office and request some help. Alternatively if you would like to make an appointment with your child and any of the careers advisers simply email Mrs Harden and she will book you an appointment. sharden@thejohnwallisacademy.org

Here are some useful reading materials which you may find helpful.

https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/influencers/support-for-parents-and-guardians

https://www.kentprospectus.co.uk/information/young-people-and-parents/parents-and-carers

https://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance

We welcome local business who want to work with the academy. Currently we work with over 50 local companies that support our students with helping them explore the world of work.

Through business breakfast’s we have spoken to local employers about what an academy we want for our students and how we want local employers to share what skills they are looking for and how together we work alongside each other for the benefit of our students and for their business.

Employers are struggling to fill their vacancies and the skills sets they require are just not in the market. By understanding what skills employers need and want we can teach these traits to our students with their help and support which in turn will help to grow t pipelines through apprenticeship opportunities and entry level jobs.

We are looking for employers to come in a chat to our students, talk about what your company does, what sector do you belong to, how did you get into the role, what qualifications di you have to get, what skills do you need etc. We want our students to have access to local companies and understand what companies are in their area, what you do and how they can be part of them.

Students need to have knowledge of what they can do when they leave school in terms of careers, how can they have this knowledge if they don’t have access to it. Yes, Ai can help and the internet can help, but nothing is as good as seeing or hearing this information in person where they can ask questions and try them out.

So what as an employer could you offer the academy:

• Employer Talks about your business, how you got there, what route you took, what qualifications did you need.
• Allow us to come in with a group of students to your premises so they can see first hand just what you do
• Work experience opportunities – these can be anything from 1 day to 5 days.
• Workplace safari – Allow a small group to come and look at all the various departments in your business and may experience some of the work you do
• Workshop – Could you come and deliver a workshop that will develop our students
• Volunteering opportunities – could you provide our students with some volunteering opportunities again 1 day to 5 days.
• T-Level Work Placements – Could you offer a student a one day a week work placement 45 days per year to help them experience real life working environment.
• Apprenticehsips- Do you have an established apprenticeship programme? Could you come and tell the students all about it, how to apply, what qualifications they will need, what skills you are looking for.
• If you don’t have an apprenticeship scheme but would like to develop this, talk to the careers team and they can help you put this into place.
• Social Value Opportunities – Could your staff offer some time to help with a project in the school such as painting and decorating
• Mock Interviews- Could your staff come in for a morning and do some mock interviews with our students.
• Career Fairs – Would you come along and allow the students to see what you do, ask questions and advice.
• National Careers Week – Would you like to be involved in a range of activities we will be putting on in March to support this event
• National Apprenticeship Week – Would you like to come in and talk about your scheme during this week, or, could you so some online talks.

We really value any support you can provide and enjoy building these networks with local businesses. IF you would like any further information about any of the above, please contact our careers manager Mrs S A Harden at sharden@thejohnwallisacademy.org or contact via phone to the school: 01233 645423

Careers Access Policy September 2024

Welcome to the teacher & staff section of the careers web pages. In here you will find a copy of the main careers programme so you can see what events will be happening and when. You will also find the strategic plan for careers which involves all of you.

Careers needs to be embedded in the curriculum and students whud;l be well aware that they are studying a subject because they can see a purpose, they can see that by doing this subject it will help them in a future career.

CPD training on this will be delivered to support you.

Unifrog

Please can you log any careers activities you deliver within your subject on Unifrog. We have to measure all career activities and we have to be accountable against the Gatsby benchmarks. By logging activities on Unifrog everystudnets will have access to what career activities they have been to or had.

Gatsby

Careers education is measured by the Gatsby benchmarks, there are 8 of them and the career programme has to show that we are delivering activities that meet the needs of the stdunets against these benchmarks.

Employers

The academy are working with over 5 local businesses who are very happy to come in and do talks, work place visits and offer workshops. If you need any help with getting in speakers, please do email the careers team and we can see if any of our businesess suit your requirements.

Kent Choices

Year 10 and 11 will be using Kent Choices to look at their post 16 destinations, in tutor time we hope that they can get logged in to the system to begin creating their own personal profiles. In November they will be allowed to start making their applications. The sooner they do this the more likely they will have to get a place secured on a course especially at the local college

If students forget their password send them to the careers office where we can reset them.

Please familiarise yourself with the website:

www.kentchoices.co.uk

 

Amazon Apprenticeships and Internships

Please see the link to Amazon and their application process. If you have any further questions, please let me know.

https://amazonapprenticeships.co.uk/ or use the QR Code below:-

---

Springpod Virtual Work Experience

Please use the following link to access their virtual work experience opportunities:-

https://www.springpod.com/

Careers Education Information Advice and Guidance PolicyCareers Access Policy September 2024