Careers Day for Year 9 Students at Lord Grey Academy

On November 28th 2019 Study Higher supported Lord Grey Academy to run a Careers Day for Year 9 students.

The Event:

The event involved collaboration from four of our university and college partners including; Buckinghamshire New University delivering sessions using the ‘Simulate Your Future’ Van; the University of Reading facilitating ‘Degree Mix N’ Match’; Milton Keynes College ran workshops about Apprenticeships; Oxford Brookes University delivered ‘Gear Up’ and staff from Study Higher also ran workshops about Career Pilot.

The Workshops:

The Simulation Van provided students with a combination of classroom and interactive sessions. The session in the Van was based on the healthcare sector as students engaged in the ‘Journey of a Patient’, on the way encountering professionals in the field talking about their own career paths. In the classroom students gained more information about Healthcare qualifications as well as reflecting on their own future goals by completing a career booklet.

During ‘Degree Mix and Match’ students matched degrees to the graduate career, based on real people and their experiences.

In the Apprenticeships session, students were shown what they would need to do to apply for an apprenticeship and what they entail in relation to work and study.

Gear Up provided students with the opportunity to learn about the different routes toward higher education including alternative options to university. During this session students were also supported to research their future pathways.

For the Career Pilot session, students were taught how to navigate the Career Pilot website including creating a profile and analysing their skill strengths, future aims and ambitions.

Student Feedback:

There was a range of positive feedback from students about the different workshops;

“When I get out of school I want to study medicine and pursue my dream of becoming a chemist”

“I think my future career will be good because of my understanding of today”

“The best part was seeing other jobs and what they do”

“That it had real doctors/nurses speech in it”

“Best part was informing us about what career paths we could take”

“The best part was finding out what you need to have to get into certain jobs”

The Simulation Van provided students with a new and exciting way to learn about the healthcare sector. Students were introduced to a range of websites they could use to aid them with their career planning and they had the opportunity to develop their research skills in the Gear Up sessions. The career booklets that each student received also ensure that students can refer back to the information they received and continue reflecting on their options.

Shamsa Khan: Buck Higher Education Liaison Officer