The future success of our students is important to us ‘We want every student, no matter what their background to be able to build a rewarding career.’ (Dfe- Careers Strategy: making the most of everyone’s skills and talents – December 2017)
Through our Integrated Careers programme, we seek to give young people the academic and soft workplace skills to get on in life. Careers education will seek to challenge the thinking of our students and aim to support students to look beyond their immediate environments to new and exciting possibilities within the changing world of work.
As a country, we are currently in a period of dramatic change in the workplace where technology; changing work patterns, types of employment and innovation mean we are seeking to prepare our students for jobs which do not yet exist, and for a work landscape very different to the world of work now.
To do this, we need to develop each student’s individual responsibility for their personal career journey. As a College, we will seek to deliver a range of career interventions, experiences and opportunities to engage our students with the world of work and employers. We will aim to inspire and illustrate that career success is shaped by individual choices and individual motivation.
The path to many traditional careers has tended to be through one route and we must now recognize there are multiple career paths which could lead to the same job or role. Whether students follow the traditional A Level academic pathway; a vocational route; or look to earn and learn through Apprenticeships students must take ownership of their own futures and ultimately their own success. Our integrated careers programme will challenge students to:
Understand their options and different paths to work, to plan the steps they need to take, and to get from where they are to where they want to go.
Be inspired about new opportunities they might not have known about (or that might not yet exist),or thought they could not achieve.
Understand their own knowledge and skills and how they can be used in the workplace.
Personal Development Students will access Careers related learning through Personal Development lessons. A program of lessons incorporating the use of Careers pilot has been sequenced from year 7 to 13. Whilst individual faculty areas will make links to careers provision, specific guidance around applying for jobs, careers pathways and work related skills will be delivered through this bespoke curriculum. A brief overview of curriculum content is provided below:
Years 7-11 (to be added shortly)
Years 12 and 13: PD sessions include:
Work experience introduction
Organisational skills
Preparing for the workplace
Professional relationships and conduct in the workplace
Importance of networking
Personal Statement and application writing
Integrated Careers Programme To ensure we inspire and challenge our students to achieve their potential, we operate an integrated careers programme working closely with Careers South West, local businesses and a range of other Colleges and professional bodies.
As part of our partnerships, we are actively looking to create more career interventions. Career interventions are specifically targeted opportunities where key groups are exposed to targeted career experiences.
All students at Okehampton College will access the DMAT Careers Fair which allows us to showcase the talent of our students locally and for local employers to recruit, engage and inspire future workers. The event also challenges and encourages individuals to consider all their career options and the steps they need to take to achieve their goals. Pupils first attend the fair in Year 9 and will revisit each year until they leave, providing multiple opportunities to explore technical qualifications, apprenticeships, vocational and academic routes through a range of providers. They will also encounter a range of employers too.
Students in Years 10-13 receive targeted one to one support from Careers South West, who provide impartial career guidance on courses, apprenticeships and training programmes. Students who require additional support may be allocated additional sessions and guidance. Career guidance sessions are invaluable opportunities where students can ask questions and engage in shaping their own futures.
Additional Support for Students Advice help and support for students and parents is available at every stage of a student's College career in order to maximise achievement and success in whichever field or area a student may choose. For students who are identified with SEND needs or students in authority care systems we allocate additional staff to ask key questions after impartial guidance to challenge individuals to achieve success.
Careers Pilot Students will be provided with a log in to use Careers Pilot. Within this system, they will be expected to maintain a record of careers-based learning and employer encounters, enabling them to track their progress and develop their understanding of future careers and how best to prepare themselves in relation to qualifications, building skills and attributes and applying for courses which enable that progression. They will use Careers pilot in PD sessions and will also be set tasks (through homework on class charts) which engage them in accessing information linked to jobs which are linked to aspects of the core and wider curriculum. An example of this might be watching a video of how someone has become an Actor linked to skills they learned within English lessons. Please click on this link to access our information page specifically linked to Careers Pilot.
Tutoring Tutors will also refer to careers pilot and talk to pupils prior to and after careers related events, helping them to reflect on these experiences and recognise how they are supporting pupils to refine or broaden their thinking around future careers. For any pupil unsure about aspects of careers, their first point of contact is always the tutor and we would encourage pupils/parents to contact the tutor if they wish to discuss specific elements of their child's journey with careers related learning in the first instance.