It’s difficult to know at any age what career or job you want, but helping advise and inform a young person about pathways into work can be a real challenge. For parents, the prospect of helping their child decide what they want to do can be particularly daunting. You may feel you’re not up to date on the latest education and training options available, or you might not be sure what skills and experiences employers are looking for now. If your child is aged 11 to 24 years old, Great expectations – a careers guide for parents is designed to help.

Taking you step-by-step, we’ll help you understand the important decisions and milestones facing young people as they progress through school, college and further education or training until they successfully transition into the world of work. This guide will explain what jobs will be in demand in the future, the difference between university and an apprenticeship, the importance of work experience and how your child can get it, and everything you need to know about applying for jobs today.

This guide has been written as part of the CIPD’s Learning to Work programme, which promotes greater levels of employer engagement with young people.

• Find out more about our Learning to Work programme

Contents of the report

• Introduction
• The future of work
• Key decisions in your child’s pathway to work
• 11 – 14 years old (Years 7, 8 and 9)
• 14 -16 years old (Years 10 and 11)
• 16 – 18 years old (sixth form and college)
• Beyond education and training
• Transitioning into the world of work
• Further advice and information

Go to www.cipd.co.uk  – go to resources – go to  A –Z  resources – go to “G” –then scroll down and you will find  “Great Expectations – a career guide for parents”

The number of apprenticeship opportunities in Taunton and Wellington continues to grow. Vacancies are appearing in a range of different occupational areas. Offering excellent training leading to recognised qualifications , with some employers paying as much as £192 a week , apprenticeships are an excellent choice leading to a well trained , well paid , career, and should be considered as a serious alternative to a full time college course.

Go to the apprenticeship website – www.apprenticeships.org.uk to search for vacancies in Somerset or speak to Mr Cowling if you require any further help or advice.

Gender gap in university admissions rises to record level

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Women accepted to study at university outnumbered men by record levels last year, with female applicants dominating entrance to medicine, law and biology undergraduate degrees.

The 2014 admissions data from Ucas, the UK’s universities clearing house, also revealed record numbers of acceptances for disabled people and Asian and black ethnic groups, with a falling proportion for students from independent schools.

While women have outnumbered men in admissions for years, the 2014 figures show the gap has widened to nearly 58,000, with women making up more than half of students in two-thirds of subject areas. Men remain over-represented in most stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects, most notably in engineering where there are 20,000 more men than women, and computing science, where there are 17,000 more.

Women are particularly strongly represented in subjects allied to medicine, with 32,000 more women accepted in 2014. In medicine and dentistry – among the most competitive undergraduate courses – there were 5,000 women and 3,800 men accepted last year.

The success of female applicants mirrors the trend in GCSE and A-level results, with girls outperforming boys across the grade scale. In 2013, girls received A* or A grades at GCSE in 25% of papers taken, compared with nearly 18% of boys’ papers.

Ucas said a record 36,000 UK applicants who declared a disability were accepted by universities – an increase of 3,700 on the previous year. The 45,000 UK students from Asian ethnic groups and 30,000 from black ethnic groups were the highest numbers ever placed through Ucas.

The growth in students from state schools has lowered the proportion of UK entrants from the independent sector. In 2007, privately educated students made up 11% of the 256,000 acceptances but last year the proportion was 9% of 307,000.

The Ucas data also showed that many students are applying to university with qualifications other than A-levels. Last year the number accepted onto degree courses holding Btec qualifications – the equivalent to A-levels, usually in vocational subjects such as business studies – rose to 85,000, almost double the number that held Btecs in 2008.

The detailed breakdown of subjects being studied showed another fall in the number of students taking European languages and literature degrees, with the number accepting places falling below 4,000.

Non-European languages are not immune, with just 140 studying Chinese languages – the lowest number for five years.

John Worne, the British Council’s director of strategy, said: “It’s another day of disappointment for language lovers, as we continue to see a steady decline in UK students choosing to study foreign languages at university level. One good piece of news is some students are opting to study a language alongside another degree subject – more should, it’s a particularly attractive combination for employers.”

Extra-curricular activities now ‘more important’ to university applications

15 January 2015 | By Jack Grove

Don’t forget that our local colleges offer “Taster” sessions, ie an opportunity for students to experience a particular course / subject they are thinking of doing when they leave school. Designed primarily for year 11 and year 10 students, they are a great way of helping a student decide whether the course / subject is right for them, look at college prospectuses, visit their websites, or speak to them directly to obtain dates of  taster sessions / experience days.

Somerset College also offer the Sorrell Saturday Art and Design club. The club is for young people aged 14 -16 who have a passionate interest in Art and Design . The sessions are free and offer weeks of inspiring classes on Saturday mornings. Go to their website for more information and how to book.

Work Experience provides a really valuable and worthwhile opportunity to gain an insight into the world of work and to enable a student to get real experience of the sort of work they may like to do in the future . It will help them reflect on their own strengths and skills and identify what is required and what employers are looking for in the workplace. Employers and colleges recognise the importance and experience gained from a work experience placement and will often ask for evidence that some sort of work experience has been  undertaken. They know that in addition to getting an insight into a particular job , a student will have gained some valuable general skills often referred to as  “employability skills” , “general competencies”, or “soft skills”. Examples of these might be working in a team, communication, planning and organising, time management.  For more information about the value of “experience” go to the section on employability skills and the value of experience on the schools careers website called “ Life Beyond Court Fields School  – A Careers Guide ”

It is because work experience  is such a valuable and worthwhile experience , that Court Fields School fully supports and funds it, and endeavours to ensure that every year 10 student takes advantage of this opportunity in July of each year.

This is how it works:-

• Parents / Carers of year 10 students will be invited to attend a work experience launch evening, usually in October. This will provide details of how a student can secure a placement for the week in July. Information and advice will be provided on how to access a database, which the school buys into, and which contains around 3,500 employers across Somerset who have taken students on work experience in the past, and have been approved and properly risk assessed.

• Information packs will be given out to each student with all the information that they will need to start the process of securing a placement, including tips and a letter which they can use or adapt.

• Help and advice will be provided by Mr Cowling on an ongoing basis if needed.

• Once a student secures a placement, all the necessary paperwork which goes to the employer as well as to the student and parent / carer is dealt with by the school.

• The closing date to secure a placement is normally the first day back to school after the Easter Holidays. This means that students have almost 6 months in which to secure a work experience placement.

Important tips:-

• Do not sit back and think you have ages to sort out your placement. You need to be proactive from the start. Sending out letters, awaiting replies, can take time . Some employers will be slow in responding. You may need to chase them up. This takes time. If they say no, then you will have to start your search again.

• Some employment areas are very popular and competitive eg vets, graphic design, performing arts, construction , so you need to send out letters, emails, or phone them very early on to avoid any disappointment.

Don’t’ waste this opportunity. We know that some students will be very nervous and anxious about starting a placement in a very different environment from school, or working with adults they have never met, doing a job and undertaking tasks that will be very new. But that is all part of the experience. It may only be for one week , but the process of applying and of doing the placement is all part of preparing young people for the world of work and training beyond school. Students may be nervous beforehand, but they all return from it, absolutely buzzing, some with offers of part time work , some with offers of an apprenticeship, but all with a really memorable and worthwhile experience.

Just a few of the many photos taken of students on placement are shown below..

Contact and speak to Mr Cowling if you need any further information or advice about the schools work experience programme.

Some Student comments:-

“I had a fantastic time and learnt so much”

“ I was exhausted by the end of the week but had a brilliant time “

“ The people were so friendly and helpful. I have been offered a part time job”

“ It has confirmed to me that this is the sort of career I want in the future”

Some Employer comments:-

 “ It was a pleasure to have this young man at our company. He made a big contribution during the week”

“ A hard working and enthusiastic student. We have offered her an apprenticeship when she leaves school”

“ An excellent student who was always willing to muck in. We learnt as much from him as he did of us”

“Well done Court Fields school for continuing with a work experience programme. Your student learnt a lot and was always willing to help out. We have offered her a Saturday job.”

Paul Cowling ( Careers / Work Experience )

20/3/15