Although it was great last year to be able to deliver our first ever virtual Year 10 Careers Focus Day, we were thrilled to be able to return to an In Real Life event for 2022!
Whether we are holding a virtual, or IRL event, we always design the day around the career aspirations of our Year 10 students, based on responses from a questionnaire they complete in the Autumn term. Alongside an inspirational talk and an assessment centre challenge, to make up their own personalised itinerary students chose 3 sessions to take part in which were being led by post-16/18 education providers, employers and alumni from a wide range of industries. To set the tone for the day, we welcomed our keynote speaker, Grant Speed, from Odgers Berndtson; an international head-hunting company working across 33 countries. Grant not only spoke about his interesting career journey and his role, his time working in America and what he has learnt along the way, but also what skills & qualities Odgers Berndtson look for in their employees and when sourcing staff for their clients. He also stressed the importance of having resilience in life and the need to keep social media appropriate for the eyes of potential employers. We finished off with an assessment centre style task and evaluation of the day.
We were delighted to have sessions delivered by representatives from: Village Group Nursery, Bluebird Care, NHS, Hydraulics Online (Running Your Own Business), The Army, RAF, LLS Sport, Carse & Waterman (Graphic Design/Animation), DJH Mitten Clarke (Accountancy/Finance), Achieve Training (Construction), Driveworks (IT), Health & Social Care Catalyst, Harrington Chambers (Law), Cheshire Constabulary & Cheshire Fire and Rescue, Reaseheath College (Animal care) and Newcastle and Stafford College Group (Performing Arts and Hair & Beauty). School staff, who are experts in their field, also ran sessions on careers in Engineering, Law & Psychology.
We are also really pleased to have had five of our alumni students delivering sessions. Shay Norman & Georgia Draper inspired our students with a session about apprenticeships and opportunities at Barclays Plc. James Smith, who attended the University of Sheffield, ran a hugely popular session about his Dentistry degree and what it is like to go to university, Bec Kirby introduced students to many elements of childcare, and Dan Hancock, Assistant Deputy Head Teacher at Excalibur Primary School, gave a presentation on careers in teaching and an overview of his career journey so far.
We hope all our Year 10 students had an enjoyable and informative day that supports them as they move through into Year 11, and beyond, and we extend a huge thank you to everyone involved in helping us deliver this unique careers event!
