Year 11 employability day
The first day of term for our Year 11 students saw the girls undertake an Employability Day, where employers from the local area offered advice on a range of options. Five different sessions were offered, each of which the girls were able to attend on rotation: CV drafting; interview skills; financial awareness; an introduction to apprenticeships; and a talk on Higher Education.
Emma Williams, from EJW Solutions, provided training on CV writing, sharing examples of different CVs with the girls and encouraging them to discuss which aspects of each they thought were most attractive, and also to consider the different styles of CV and information to include in differentcountries. The girls thought about how important it is to tailor a CV for the job in question – for instance, for a Saturday job, it is important that applicants make clear they are free to work on Saturdays!
A range of representatives from A14 Construction, Mundipharma and Mediatek, and also a confidence coach, came to help the girls practise their interview techniques, encouraging them to engage with their passions and interests, to highlight their skillset and past experience, and to combine each of these when presenting yourself at interview in order to explain why you are suited for the role. The girls also considered body language, common interview questions and tasks, and how to show confidence.
In the financial matters workshop the girls were enlightened to the fact that the average living cost for students is in fact higher than the average income of students. The representatives from Metro Bank discussed the importance of working out a budget in light of this and gave some advice on how to stick to it, sharing information about loans and whether they are a good or bad type of debt, and also the repayment system.
The Higher Education session was delivered by a lively PhD student who provided guidance on how to choose whether university is right for the girls as individuals; and if yes, how they should choose their course and university destination. The talk went into detail about university life, what to expect and the benefits of a degree. A brief discussion also covered the benefits of a PhD and whether they might be beneficial to any of the girls.
The apprenticeship seminar was given by a an apprenticeship co-ordinator from West Suffolk College, who highlighted this increasingly popular alternative to university. The speaker enlightened the students on the pros of an apprenticeship against studying at university; earning money, not getting into debt, gaining practical experience as well as theoretical knowledge, and more quickly accessing full-time work. The session also covered the progression in apprenticeships, highlighting that the courses can be taken up to the equivalent level as a university degree.
We are extremely grateful to Form the Future CIC for organising the majority of the volunteers and to all of the volunteers themselves for providing our students with such a great day of insightful events.