Support
In addition to other careers-related activities, every student has Infra series of individual careers meetings whilst at Catmose College. This is an opportunity for students to discuss their plans and receive guidance and support. A plan of action is agreed during the meeting to help students understand the next steps that should be taken. Students in any year group are welcome to request a meeting if they would like support.
A parent / guardian can have a great deal of influence over their child’s career aspirations. Here are some ways they can support them:
- Help your child to identify their interests and abilities.
- Encourage your child to discuss their career aspirations with you (Year 11 students are encouraged to share their career meeting Action plan with their parent/guardian).
- Encourage them to make a back-up plan (in case they are unable to follow their chosen pathway).
- Attend post-16 Open Days with your child to help them to find out as much as they can about their options.
- Encourage your child to engage with our careers programme eg. attend lunchtime career talks, find a work experience placement etc.
- Ensure that you are also informed about the newer pathways such as apprenticeships, T levels and Traineeships.
In addition click here for access the “Next step” publication to encourage students to develop their knowledge and understanding at home.
In Year 9 following initial assessment of individual pathways a Year 9 options evening provides students with the opportunity to meet subject leaders, student ambassadors and the Careers Adviser to discuss these options.
A Post-16 Evening and an Apprenticeship Event gives students and parents the opportunity to meet representatives from local sixth forms/further education colleges, higher education providers, local employers offering apprenticeships and other training providers. This is an excellent opportunity to find out more about some of the different options available. Further virtual webinars and events are also made available to students and parents.
Year 11 students are strongly encouraged to attend our employer and alumni career talks. The talks give information and guidance about a variety of careers and are arranged throughout the year.
All students attend a CV workshop and are offered guidance and support from local employers. Students are helped to develop their own CV and personal statement which they can use for their post-16 applications. A useful example can be found here
Students who wish to find an apprenticeship are offered additional support and can attend a workshop session led by a local apprenticeship advisor. All students are advised to create an account with the ‘Find an apprenticeship’ website so that they are notified about other opportunities and options they may not have considered.
Local employers come into College to give students the opportunity to experience a Mock interview.
Students are encouraged to consider taking part in the National Citizen Service programme which can help to build confidence and leadership skills. You can find out more about the National Citizen Scheme here.
The following careers resources may also be helpful:
- Unifrog – All students have logins and we can provide parent logins on request. Please email careers@catmosecollege.com for more support. Unifrog can also be used to access labour market information about different jobs including current wages, employment possibilities in the employment area plus links to educational establishments to complete online applications.
- A careers tool called START can help students to assess their skills and research career options. The careers tool also gives valuable information about the availability and predicted future demand for different jobs. Students will need to register to use the careers tool. They can then rate their interests, work preferences etc to find jobs which might suit them. Alternatively, students can insert the name of a job in the “Search” tool for career information, live vacancies and labour market information.
- The National Careers Service can offer valuable information and guidance. Students and their parents can access support via the website or National Contact Centre 0800 100 900
- The Career Pilot Website Career Pilot
- You can find information about what career your choice of university degrees could lead you to by clicking here
- To find employment statistics for different university degrees click here.
Post-16 Choices
All students have to stay on in education, training, employment with training or apprenticeships until they are 18. If any students do not achieve a grade 4 or above in GCSE Maths or English they will also be required to carry on studying these subjects at School, College or as an Apprentice.
After GCSEs, students can choose:
- Full time education at a Post-16 provider studying:
- A levels
- BTEC
- Diploma
- An apprenticeship
- T Level
- Employment or voluntary work (minimum 20 hours) with part-time education or training
Sixth Forms and Colleges
There are three main types of qualification: academic, technical and vocational. Academic qualifications prepare students for higher education or employment. Students usually need to obtain at least 4 or 5 GCSEs grade 5 or above to study A levels, although there may be exceptions. Most Sixth Forms or Colleges expect students to choose to study 3 or 4 A level subjects. Students taking A levels will study the subject for two years. It is vital that students check the entry requirements for their chosen A level provider.
It is important that students choose A levels that will allow them to follow the career or gain entry on the university course of their choice. They can explore University courses and find out entry requirements using the UCAS website.
As many students are unsure about their long-term career aspirations, it is wise to choose A level subjects that complement each other and will help to keep their options open. Students who have the potential to progress on to some of the most highly regarded universities may need to take care to choose the more traditional A level subjects. Academic students who want to keep their options open are encouraged to study at least 2 of the following subjects: Maths/Further Maths, English, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, History, Modern Languages. (These are known as facilitating subjects and they are highly regarded by employers and Universities) The Russell Group of Universities gives advice about course choices on their website.
T Levels and Vocational qualifications usually take one or two years and suit students who want to learn more about a particular area of work or train for a particular industry. They combine classroom learning with research, practical activities and work-related learning. There is often a wide variety of vocational qualifications offered at colleges some at different levels. Those which are level 3 qualifications are the equivalent.
The graphic below shows how different qualifications compare
Apprenticeships
An apprenticeship combines working and earning money with training at a college to obtain qualifications. There are over 250 different types of apprenticeship available ranging from hairdressing to accountancy. At age 16, students can do an apprenticeship at Level 2 (Intermediate) or Level 3 (Advanced). An apprenticeship can lead on to a Higher Apprenticeship or a Degree-level Apprenticeship.
Students can find out more and search for apprenticeships on the government apprenticeships website.
Please see our apprenticeships section for further information on available apprenticeship opportunities.
Post-16 Financial Support
Colleges and Sixth Forms are able to give some students a bursary fund (money to help them stay in education)
Information about financial help can be found on local College/Sixth Form websites:
Harington School
New College Stamford
SMB (Stephenson Brooksby Melton)
Melton Vale (Students are given a booklet containing bursary information during their induction day. Please contact them if you have any questions)
Tresham College
Students may also be able to receive help with transport costs. The help they could receive depends on which county they live in.
Information for employers
We welcome the support of employers to help our students to understand more about the world of work and the skills required for different careers.
Employers can help in the following ways:
- participate in our Post-16, Apprenticeships and Careers Events.
- Offer a one week work experience placement.
- Support career events eg Year 11 Mock interviews, Year 9 Enterprise Challenge.
- Deliver a 40 minute lunchtime career specific session for small groups of interested students.
- Notify us about local apprenticeship opportunities.
- Participate in our National Careers week activities.
- Deliver employer encounter talks.
If you would like to help or would like to find out more, please contact the College on Tel: 01572 770066 or email careers@catmosecollege.com
Staff
All College staff have access to a range of careers and work-related resources to support delivery in their subject areas and in line with the new Careers Strategy and Gatsby benchmark 4 – linking curriculum learning to careers. This includes links to webinars, podcasts and classroom resources. For example, each curriculum team has a “careers champion” who leads the provision for their subject.
Resources for print or download can be found within the staff area/careers folder. Staff can also use the Careers resources in the Library, either independently or as part of a lesson.
Teaching and support staff are regularly involved in supporting careers and enterprise activities during dedicated collapsed timetable events.
Tutors in particular play an important role in helping to raise students’ aspirations and provide information and advice about possible pathways as part of the PSHE provision in tutorial. All staff should be able to signpost students to our careers and work-related resources and the Careers Leader.
