Who earns what...?

The UK Office of National Statistics has published figures for the average earnings last year in a range of careers. Here are some examples:  Chartered Accountant, £41,500; Civil Engineer, £39,000; Nurse, £31,900; Solicitor, £48,200; Vet, £38,800; Electrician, £30,400 and Plumber, £28,400.  Just don't forget to factor in work-life balance and job satisfaction!

Degree or Apprenticeship...?

Do graduates always earn more than non-graduates?  Figures obtained by Labour MP Frank Field show that, between April and June last year, 27% of graduate employees were paid a gross hourly wage that was lower than the average £11.10 earned by non-graduates with an Apprenticeship. [ However, Office for National Statistics figures do show the average gross pay for graduates in the period was £15.18 an hour, and they were also slightly more likely to be in work. ]  Of the 12 million graduates, 10.5 million (87%) were in employment, compared with 2 million (83%) of the 2.5 million non-graduates in Apprenticeships. ‘Successive generations of young people have been shoe-horned into universities on the promise of improving their lifetime earnings', Field stated. ‘But, as well as being saddled with eye-watering levels of debt, more than a quarter of them now work in part-time roles earning lower wages than workers with an Apprenticeship under their belt…  We need to encourage more young people to think hard about the best ways of achieving their goals in life.’

[ source:  SSAT Policy & Curriculum Radar ]

Year 9 Options Evening

The PowerPoint for last night's Parent Information Evening is available here.  Further details and resources, including the Options Booklet, are available on the school website.  Remember that you can get additional Impartial Advice and Guidance from Jackie Duffy, our Youth Connexions Personal Adviser and from the 'quick links' on the left of this page.

Advice on uni courses, training & Apprenticeships

Getting-in.com is a useful addition to the many free websites out there, providing Impartial Advice and Guidance for your future.  You can search for Higher Education courses by type and location and it also has extensive revision notes for most GCSE and 'A' level subjects as well as a selection of past papers.  The site provides information about 'distance learning' and studying on-line; personal statements and even post-graduate opportunities.  It really is a "one-stop-shop" for advice ...

Morrisby Profiling

Last year the Vocare company ran the Morrisby Profile test in school for approximately 40 students in Years 10 to 12. They are offering to repeat the process this year. The Profile is a series of tests, lasting approximately three hours, which the Morrisby organisation uses to generate a profile of an individual’s interests, abilities and aptitudes relevant to the world of work. You can try some practice profile questions here.   

If there is sufficient interest, Vocare would run the tests in school on the morning of Tuesday 22nd April 2014, which is the INSET day before the start of Summer Term. If only a few Beaumont students wish to take the test, Vocare may offer them the opportunity to complete the profiling at another local school.  This letter and pamphlet from Vocare provide additional information about the Morrisby Profile.  

If you wish your child to undertake the profiling, please return the slip to me at school as an expression of interest.  No payment is required at this time.  The school has hosted Morrisby Profiling in previous years and students and their parents have valued the outcomes but please note that Vocare is a private company and not part of Beaumont School.  Several organisations offer free, on-line, basic skills profiling tests, some of which can be accessed through this blog.

If you want to be a Doctor or Lawyer ...

EPOC Careers Conferences organises events for students who want to become doctors or lawyers.   These events aim to help you maximise your chances of being accepted into the university and profession of your choice.  They can help you decide whether Medicine or Law is the career for you and make the very best UCAS application you can.   

At the conferences, you will:

• Understand what admissions tutors and interviewers are looking for
• Gain practical advice on getting into medical / law careers
• Find out about the realities of studying and specialising in the profession
• Speak to doctors / solicitors and barristers and university students about their experiences
• Discuss your academic options, alternative and related careers
• Experience a university environment

There are events best in London for Medicine on 8th February and 29th March and for Law on 15th March.  For more information, click here.

Easier to get into uni in 2013 ...?

Analysis of the 2013 UCAS figures shows that the pool of applicants fell from 700,000 to 677,000 but acceptances went up 7.3% in England.  Overall 9 out of 10 applicants received at least 1 offer, while a third received 5 offers.  However, the number of people entering institutions with traditional high tariff requirements with BBB or equivalent rose by 9%.  Students with predictions of BBB were 23% more likely to receive offers from all 5 choices than in the previous year.  UCAS said that the proportion of English 18 year olds enrolling with BBB or lower has increased by 70% over the last 2 years, to 17%.  [ source gtassociates.org ]