National Careers Week 4 - 8 March 2024

 

We would like to thank the guest speakers who have made National Careers Week at Charters such a huge success. Their involvement has enabled our students to gain valuable insights into the World of Work and the skills that are relevant and valued in the workplace.

Although National Careers Week has now drawn to a close, you can read how we are committed to providing career guidance and insights throughout the academic year by viewing our Careers pages.

Below is a summary of the encounters our students have benefited from this week:

Monday

National Careers Week kicked off with an assembly that encouraged our Year 7 students to be curious about the enormous range of jobs that exist that may match their interests & skills. Believing you are capable of achieving something is a powerful tool & students were told to dream big - anything is possible.

Students in all year groups have access to Unifrog which is packed with resources to explore everything careers related. They can search the Careers Library to see a whole host of newly emerging roles, or the Subject Library which will highlight jobs and careers that students may be interested in researching that link to their favourite subjects!

Mrs Henly explained to the Year 7 students that they don't need to know exactly what they want to do now, but they are encouraged to take the time to talk to their teachers, family members and friends about a range of pathways and careers, and to consider what subjects they enjoy.

Tuesday

Building on the Year 7 assembly, the Year 8 cohort welcomed ex-student Evangeline to their's.  She is currently on a break from studying Modern Foreign Languages at the University of Reading and explained that there is not just one way to access higher education. When she returns to her study it will be on a part-time basis as this is better for her mental health, and she will commute to the university instead of living in halls of residence. Explaining that it is important to let others know what you need in order to succeed was a really powerful message that we hope resonates with our students. Careers, like all  things in life, have more than one pathway to reach the goal.  Thank you to Evangeline for sharing her story.

Wednesday

On day 3 of National Careers Week, students in our Sixth Form heard about two very different career paths. Trustee, James, spoke about his career as a journalist which he pursued after studying a History degree, & a team from Kirk Rice spoke about accountancy apprenticeships, and learning while you earn.

Our thanks to our visitors who were able to shed light on the qualifications needed for these two very different careers, and the routes available to secure a role within each sector.

Thursday

On day 4 our Year 10 students welcomed Aisha & Charlotte from natural cosmetics company Alchemy Ingredients, & Madeleine a Financial Advisor & founder of Blueberry Financial to their assembly. All three visitors studied Science subjects at university before embarking on their careers.

Aisha & Charlotte both studied a BSc in Chemistry at The University of Reading, with a placement year at Alchemy Ingredients. Aisha joined the company after her Masters, while Charlotte joined after her degree.

Madeleine also followed a science route, studying a BSc in Biochemistry before securing a job through the graduate trainee programme at Standard Life after university. She explained that although her job is focused on ensuring her clients have good financial advice, a large part of her role is about talking to people to find out what is important to them, and this suits her curious nature.

The three visitors spoke about the fact that they all chose subjects they enjoyed at GCSE, including Drama, PE & Music, and only really decided on a Science A Level after their GCSE results. Aisha told the students that friends from her Chemistry Degree have followed very different pathways and their careers include a data analyst, Chemistry lecturer and trainee pilot!

It was wonderful for our students to gain an insight into two very different careers and to hear how doing something you enjoy seems to be the key to happiness.

Our thanks to Aisha, Charlotte and Madeleine for taking the time to visit Charters School and sharing their stories this National Careers Week.

Friday

To round off National Careers Week our Year 11 students welcomed two ex-students who took very different pathways after leaving Charters, and now work for the same company in Ascot.

Georgina is the Marketing and Communications manager of Hall and Kay, who design, install and maintain complex fire protection and security solutions to some of the UKs most prestigious buildings. During Charters Sixth Form Georgina studied Music, Drama and Maths before completing a Music degree at the University of Bristol and after graduating she began a career in events management. During the pandemic this industry ground to a halt, but Georgina was able to use a range of transferable skills to help her embark upon a new career in marketing which she really enjoys.

Rob left Charters School and joined Hall and Kay as a Trainee Design Engineer within their Windsor office. Over the past few years he has been able to progress through a range of roles, including working for two years at the Olympic Park and Westfield site before moving into Project Management. The company allowed Rob to take a 14 month sabbatical, which he used to travel the world, and he now works as a Contract Manager for the company.

It was really interesting for the students to hear that a local company, which primarily focusses on fire engineering, actually has a huge amount of varied roles including Estimator, Credit Controller, Project Director, Operations Manager, Design Manager and Installation Engineer to name but a few.

We would like to thank all our guests for taking the time to share their experiences with our students and share the overriding themes which featured in many of our guests’ presentations:

• Follow your heart, you need to be passionate about and enjoy whatever it is you end up doing
• Employers are employing YOU; they want to know about your values and attitude, specific skills they can teach you
• It’s ok not to know what you want to do
• Take risks and grab hold of opportunities when they come your way
• Be prepared to fail, this will undoubtedly happen but that’s often where you learn he most
• Impostor Syndrome does exist but don’t let that stop you from applying or presenting - it’s important to believe in yourself
• Remember that you may well end up in a career that doesn’t even exist yet. The jobs market and technology is changing so quickly, so be prepared to be flexible
• You’ll never regret working hard

#NCW2024

THE PARENTS' GUIDE TO NATIONAL CAREERS WEEK

The Parents’ Guide to... provides parents with the information they need to help their teenage children make the right choices to create successful futures after GCSE and Sixth Form.

Parents Guide

 

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