This blog is designed to keep you up-to-date with Careers Education, Information and Guidance (CEIAG) available locally, nationally and through the school. I’ll be posting information about employment and training opportunities available locally as well as details of open days and useful websites. The world of education, employment and training opportunities is changing rapidly so keep checking in for the latest information.

Mr Cross


Wednesday 13 November 2013

Interested in a career in Arts management?

The Inspire to Aspire Academy (ITA) is running an ambassador programme for 16-19 year olds for the Heart of Flame Festival 2014.  The application process has just opened and will close on the 10th December 2013. The programme will start in January/February and will run through until July. The ITA describes the benefits of being part of the ambassador team for 2014 as 'enormous'; all ambassadors will receive an emergency first aid at work qualification along with either a Bronze, Silver or Gold Arts Award (Gold Awards are worth 35 UCAS Points).  In addition ambassadors, get 'an amazing work experience opportunity of running their own event, making their own promotion video/documentary and work on professional events'.
Ambassador opportunities are as follows:   

· Producing - Film and/or Events

· Event Management

· Stage Management

· Marketing

· Film Production

Ambassadors will meet on a weekly basis either on a Saturday or Monday Evening at the University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, to complete the Arts Award along with other courses, in addition to workshops on their chosen job area.  All skills developed look great on UCAS applications as well as CVs. 'The best way to learn is to do in the arts industry, ITA try to make this possible wherever we can'.

Click here for further information.

Friday 8 November 2013

'Moving On' Careers Day: 12.11.13

All Year 11 students will be attending the Moving On Curriculum Enrichment Day on Tuesday 12th November which includes a "Careers Fair" in the Assembly Hall.  This will last from 8.30 - 11.00 a.m.  Sixth Form students who are available are also welcome to attend as the organisations involved include representatives from universities, employers in areas such as engineering, broadcasting and marketing and professions such as medicine, accountancy and law.  For a full list, click here.

Monday 4 November 2013

New funding announced for Traineeships

An extra £20m is being made available to the Government’s new Traineeships programme to support even more young people into Apprenticeships and other jobs.  Traineeships, which began in August, provide 16 to 23-year-olds with the skills, experience and confidence to compete in the labour market  –  helping them secure Apprenticeships or other jobs.  More than 500 providers have pledged to take on trainees this year and so far 150 companies, both large and small, have all expressed an interest in offering placements to young people. They include household names such as BAE Systems, Siemens and Virgin Media. 
 
Traineeships last a maximum of 6 months and provide:
  • work preparation training such as interview preparation and CV writing
  • support to improve English and maths skills
  • a high-quality work experience placement (between 6 weeks and 5 months)
  • training from providers who are rated ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ by Ofsted

Apprenticeships are on the increase

More people than ever before are taking part in an Apprenticeship, according to figures released by the Government last month.  Nearly 860,000 people were on an Apprenticeship in 2012-13 with the "gold standard" of Higher and Advanced levels attracting record levels of apprentices.  The data also shows that there were over 1.5 million apprenticeship starts since 2010.

Skills Minister Matthew Hancock said:

'These figures show that a record 858,900 people participated in apprenticeships last year, which is almost 370,000 more than in 2009-10.  This is good news for the economy and good news for those getting the skills they need to prosper.  There are now more options than ever before with a focus on the quality and rigour that people and employers want from apprenticeships.'

Higher Apprenticeships  are now at the highest level they have ever been, while the participation in Advanced Level apprenticeships has increased by more than 50,000.
 
[ Source: gov.co.uk ]