individuals who show improved attainment as
well as motivation.
The biggest visible difference has been in
the most disengaged young people who have
consistent attendance of 80% and below. Once
they go on workplace visits and interact with
employers, they start coming to school every
day and engaging.
How has the training met your
needs and influenced your
careers provision?
Along with providing ideas for engaging
external partners, the training suggests inviting
alumni back to share their success stories. One
alumnus came into our school to talk about
her career writing novels.
She was from a very disadvantaged
background, a recipient of free school meals,
and labelled as a low achiever. She was
the perfect inspiration for our students who
are studying English.
Another alumnus who works with animals
came in to speak to a group of our students
who have strong ambitions to embark on a
similar career. Despite many of them not having
the grades to become a vet, the workshop
demonstrated lots of achievable career options
including jobs in a zoo or sanctuary.
It’s fantastic that alumni can offer the
perspective that “I was once sat where you are
now, and this is what I’m doing now” —
especially for those who are lacking resilience
and self-confidence.
Sarah Noble’s top
tips for new
careers leaders
• Build careers into your
school improvement
plan, which feeds into
departmental
improvement plans,
to ensure it is a
clear target.
• Ask each department
to run a careers
activity regularly (for
example, one per half
term) so that it
becomes a core part
of their planning
and teaching.
• For teachers
struggling with time,
suggest including a
video from a website
such as icould.com at
the start of the lesson
to introduce a careers
topic, and have some
questions ready to
engage young people.
This is really effective
and gets them
thinking about the
world beyond school.
One alumnus came into our
school to talk about her
career writing novels
What do you enjoy most about
being a careers leader?
I love seeing students who can be challenging
in the classroom but are then able to interact
maturely and politely with employers — it makes
me so proud. They go to the effort of presenting
themselves smartly and clearly articulate what
they want to say, something they may struggle
with day to day. It makes me see them in a
different light.
One boy who was completely disengaged
had a couple of interactions with an engineering
company and is totally focused now. He’s also
turned around his poor attendance and
homework since having a goal for where he
wants to head in the future.
I have also been delighted at the willingness
of business to work closely with us; we have
been inundated with offers. One employer
stands out (local pest-control firm Rentokil);
after speaking about all their career pathways,
the company held an interactive ‘bug buffet’
where students could eat chocolate-covered
crickets. The children went wild and absolutely
loved it, even though it was completely out of
their comfort zone.
RESOURCES:
THE CAREERS & ENTERPRISE COMPANY
The Careers & Enterprise Company has a mission to
prepare and inspire young people for the fast-changing
world of work. careersandenterprise.co.uk
48 // PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Sign up to the free,
flexible online training for
careers leaders at
careersandenterprise.co.uk/
careers-leaders