FUTURE TALENTED Spring Term 2019 - Issue 2 | Page 24

Gatsby Benchmarks
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Here, she helps careers leaders to
break down their strategy into
manageable pieces and make it
meaningful for young people. assemblies and run a college evening
on a particular night. You’re going to
spend time training the Year 11 tutors to
help with students’ applications.”
Personalise your strategy Enlist help from your
teaching staff
Tailoring your careers ‘menu’ to your
individual school and school
community is the first step, according
to Delfino.
“Schools will be picking from similar
options, but it cannot be done ‘off the
shelf’. Decide on your target group (the
whole school? Year 11?); time limitations;
how big or small your interventions will
be, and your priorities, depending on
the stage the school’s at. Otherwise
everyone will panic and it won’t
happen,” she cautions.
Narrow your focus and
create a calendar
She advises careers leaders to start
small and grow their strategy over time.
“Lots of schools say to one individual
‘you’re the Gatsby careers lead now –
go for it!’ If somebody is appointed this
way, one of the best places to start is
with Year 11: you have to ensure that
none of your kids become NEET.
“First, create a calendar for the year.
Think: ‘what’s important this year and
what’s coming up? So, between
September and December how will
you have 100% of Year 11 with
applications for college and looking at
apprenticeships? For example, you’re
going to get the further education
colleges to come in for Monday
“All those things that seem huge when
you sit down at the beginning aren’t –
because you’ve calendared them in,”
she continues. “Year 11 starts to get into
it; they’re ‘breaking down doors’ trying
to get help.
“English teachers can help with
personal statements. That’s how you
start to include teaching staff. And, by
December, every member of Year 11
has an application in with interviews for
January. So, for January, you calendar in
interview practice for Year 11s; get
employers in; hold an apprenticeships
fair. Suddenly you’ve got six teachers
involved (one for each tutor group) and
the head of year, as well as the English
department: that’s 10-15 staff on board
with Year 11.
“Next year, Year 11’s a piece of cake
because you’ve got the calendar – why
not then look at Year 8 or 9 and throw
in other little things that will work?”
Exploit local opportunities
When it comes to approaching
employers “businesses are crying out
to get into schools,” Delfino asserts.
“With corporate social responsibility
and their talent pipelines, they’re
starting to look in postcodes they
wouldn’t have before because there’s
a huge untapped talent pool, and also
they’re having to do that for their
diversity. Schools need to use all the
cynical reasons why businesses want
“Businesses are
crying out to get
into schools”
to get into schools and turn them
into partnerships.”
Initially “use what you’ve got,” she
advises. “If there’s a university nearby,
approach it: we’ve had undergraduates
coming out to deliver science sessions.
And use your local museums and art
galleries – a lot are free to visit.”
With private businesses, “start by
checking out local law firms,
supermarket chains, banks and hotel
groups. Look at their websites and get
in touch with HR. For STEM, get your
local GPs and opticians to give a talk or,
ideally, do something practical.
“All the big construction firms run
initiatives around careers,” she
continues. “If there’s construction work
in your area, contact those companies.
Employer ‘speed dating’ is one of my
favourite things to do: you only need
about 10 businesses and 30 or 40
kids have an engagement with them
in 30 minutes.”
This market research will also help
with Gatsby Benchmark 2, points out
Jane Delfino MBE,
“Schools need to use all the cynical
reasons why businesses want to get into
schools and turn them into partnerships”
24 // EMPLOYABILITY