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Posted on January 31st 2019
Come and Talk Careers - Every Student Welcome
A special careers desk in the school canteen during January helped boys in all year groups get answers to their questions about future study and jobs.
“The idea was to make sure every student knows there is a careers adviser they can come and talk to at any time,” said Mr Allison, our Careers Lead.
The desk was staffed by careers adviser Caroline Jackson, who spends around one day a week at the academy. Students were posed some interesting questions about careers to get them thinking.
“I asked them what they thought Theresa May earned, for example,” said Ms Jackson. “One boy asked if it was £1m. But when I told them that the average salary in the UK is £26,500 they started to get closer.” The answer is around £150,000. Other questions included what’s the 'happiest' job, and what’s the minimum wage for 16-18 year olds?
Ms Jackson feels the sessions have enabled her to reach out to boys who might not otherwise know that careers advice is offered to all students.
“I usually focus on Year 11 students because they’ve got choices to make about what to do after their GCSEs,” says Ms Jackson. “But any student is welcome to come and talk to me. Children in London, in particular, have a lot of options after finishing their GCSEs. They can stay on in the sixth form here, go to a different sixth form, or a sixth form college. Or they can go to a further education college, or apply for an apprenticeship. And the decisions they make have quite a big effect on their future. That’s why careers information, advice and guidance are really important.”
"Good advice"
Kade in Year 9 feels the school gives boys good support with careers. “I’ve not spoken to the careers adviser yet, but in assemblies they sometimes talk about careers and jobs too, and I’ve learned about the sixth form as well. They give us good advice and there’s always someone to talk to if you have any questions.”
Ms Jackson is one of the Harris Federation’s team of careers advisers. If any boy wants to talk to Ms Jackson she’s available in room 1.25 most Tuesdays during term time.
