Opening the door to meaningful, long-term careers at the Year 11 Employability Day
Students at St Mary's are encouraged to be ambitious and have high aspirations about who they want to become and so, each autumn, Year 11 students take part in a Day of Employability, organised by Mrs Kate Mead, Head of Careers, and Peter Buncombe from Form the Future. As students enter their GCSE year, they begin to focus on their academic goals and future pathways, including A Level choices and this day offers them the chance to pause, reflect on their employability skills, and consider potential career directions.
We were delighted yet again to welcome a range of local employers into school for this year's Employability Day to share their expertise and help students prepare for their futures. A series of workshops covered practical skills, broadened student's knowledge of the options available, from higher education to apprenticeships, and offered key advice for success in whatever their chosen paths.
Feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive: 90% of students said the activities helped them develop their employability skills, and 93% felt more confident presenting themselves in an interview.
During the CV writing session, led by Rebecca Foster from G-Fresh, students learned how to structure a clear, effective CV, understand what employers look for, and how to highlight their skills, achievements and individual qualities. They then put this learning into practice by writing their own CVs.
The interview skills workshop, delivered by Joanna Leung, a digital transformation and project manager, allowed students to apply these skills in mock interviews with local employers. The questions were designed to mirror real-life scenarios, prompting students to discuss teamwork, responsibility, problem-solving, and personal achievements. Employers commented that they were so impressed they would have offered many of the students the job!
One student reflected:
“I really enjoyed the day. Even though I was nervous going into the interviews, I found them really positive and useful.”
Rich Wainwright from the Centre for Business Excellence led a session on decision-making, covering a range of practical and motivational topics and encouraging students to consider how their surroundings, peers, and personal choices influence learning. In reflecting on what they found most useful from this workshop, many students singled out his message about self-management - that prioritising is less about time management and more about deciding how best to manage yourself and the choices you make.
Peter Buncombe from Form the Future introduced students to degree apprenticeships as an excellent alternative to university, combining classroom learning to degree level with on-the-job experience and a salary. With today’s apprenticeships, which cover a wide variety of industries from law and accountancy to IT, media and the NHS, doors are opened to meaningful, long-term careers.
Kelly Saunders from PEM, and Cameron Pearson from Mott MacDonald shared insights into their own apprenticeship programmes, explaining how these alternative routes enable students to develop academically while gaining valuable employability skills and professional experience.
The employers praised students for their thoughtful questions, enthusiasm, and genuine interest in the career opportunities that lie ahead. The students, in turn, expressed how valuable the experience was:
“This was extremely useful - the interview made me confident for future employment.”
“A really good Employability Day that expanded my knowledge.”
“Thank you so much - the interviews were excellent experience.”
We are incredibly proud of how engaged our students were and look forward to supporting them further as they prepare for their post-16 journey.
Find out more about careers advice at St Mary’s.