Year 12 Work Experience & Careers support Dates: 9th – 13th July 2018

Grey Court is an ‘Investor in Careers School’ Careers education is an important part of the Grey Court Sixth form experience. We have been an accredited ‘Investor in Careers’ school since 2007 and we are going for a re-accreditation in 2018 showing our commitment to providing high quality careers education and guidance. As a part of this all students will do work experience in Summer 2018 to develop their employability skills. There are also various opportunities throughout the year for support with thinking about their future options including events and talks e.g. Careers fair, Friends and Founders eve and Mock interviews.

Why should I do work experience Employability skills UCAS/Job Applications/Higher Apprenticeships Unique Selling Point – what makes you stand out in the crowd Boost your CV Gain an insight into a particular industry Helps you consider careers for the future/inspiration/new ideas Networking/Future contacts/references It shows passion and interest in that field of work Try the job before you commit to anything Develop your job searching skills A Recent research study by Highfliers said that, "graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer for their organisations’ graduate programmes."

What is work experience? Spending one week either work shadowing or doing a work placement. Work placement – hands on practical experience of a job role. Work shadowing - those jobs where you can’t actually do the job until you are qualified e.g. surgeon, solicitor etc and you are gaining an insight in to the area of work by observing and talking to staff Linked to your studies or future aspirations Look for a challenging placement not nando’s!

Advice on finding a placement What is the relevance to your future studies? Prospects website https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree for ideas Think about practicalities e.g. travel distance, cost Ask around the school. Speak to students who completed work experience last year & look at the list on the WEX board Discuss your ideas with your tutors, teachers, parents & careers adviser Use your contacts!!!

Start early, research and be proactive It is the students responsibility to find a placement Identify the areas of work you are interested in and start to contact relevant organisations Start contacting people now – you are competing with other students in other schools for placements Contact the companies with a CV and cover letter/email Look for opportunities to network – Careers events, F&F Evening

Timeline 2017-18 Key dates for your diary October 18th Student briefing on Work Experience   October-December Students work on CV and researching companies December 7th Friends & Founders evening – networking and CV review February 9th Deadline for own job finds – WEX Placement form completed February – April Work experience clinics for students with no placement May-June Year 12 exams Early July Briefing on work experience week July 9th - 13th Work experience week July 16th Work experience feedback & debrief Bernie Corrighan (Careers Adviser) is in the Sixth Form every Wednesday if anyone has any questions. Bernie is also available on email bcorrighan@greycourt.org.uk if you have any questions.

Year 13 feedback

Information we need from ALL students - WEX Placement form Information on the Work experience page on the website under ‘Sixth form’ http://www.greycourt.richmond.sch.uk/Work-Experience

Future events Wednesday 11th October Way Ahead Careers Fair 6.30-8.00 Wednesday 18th October Student Work experience launch Thursday 7h December 2016 7.00pm- Networking opportunities for possible work experience links

Mock interviews Summer 2017 we had Goldman Sachs staff in doing mock interviews with all year 12 students Students had to be dressed smartly and have their CV ready for an interview and then receiving feedback Students feedback on the event: ‘ The session went brilliantly. I got tips on how to improve in an interview and be sure to be passionate about what I do’ ‘It was extremely helpful as it made me realise I do have the confidence to speak to an employer and they gave me useful feedback for my next interview’

UCAS time-line Year 12 July Personal statement workshop June/July October/Nov Students partake in “centigrade” workshops and are guided around the UCAS website *Key event* March Parents higher education evening February Visit to a University during enrichment May/June Studying abroad presentation September – UCAS overview by Ms McNicol during induction day July Personal statement workshop 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 11th October: University & Careers stalls at the Way Ahead Careers Fair in school December: Students informed about the range of spring/summer schools run by universities. February/ March: 1 to 1 student interviews with Ms McNicol plus UCAS Uni fair at Richmond College April University admission’s officer talk in assembly June/July Student visits to university open days July/August GC students attend university summer schools Gemma On-going: monthly UCAS/careers/opportunities newsletter produced by Ms McNicol

OXBRIDGE - Miss Fincham/Mr Clements SUPPORT PROGRAMMES OXBRIDGE - Miss Fincham/Mr Clements MEDICS/VET/DENTISTRY – Mr Mohammad (Biology) Grey Court Students on the Cambridge Residential Millie at Kingston Hospital for work experience

Any questions?