Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, schools across the UK have been unable to meet the requirement to provide students with at least one meaningful encounter with an employer per year, traditionally achieved through careers talks and work experience opportunities. These encounters are a vital part of careers education, with research linking them to increased motivation, aspiration, and greater chance for future success in the workplace.
So, to support this the Uni Connect Aspire Higher team are launching a new series of informal webinars featuring interviews with local employers.
HOW YOU CAN HELP?
We would be delighted if you would nominate an employee or apprentice to take part.
The webinars aim to inform students about the realities, rewards, and challenges associated with the industry or profession being featured. Students will be able to access these webinars via our website and our YouTube channel via a private requested link. To offer the students the possibility to interact with the webinar, we will supply them with an email address which they will be able to send questions to. We will then forward this on and facilitate a response.
The webinars will give students a valuable insight into potential careers whilst giving you the opportunity to showcase your company and industry directly to the future workforce and begin to build strong relationships with local schools and students.
WHAT WILL THE WEBINARS BE LIKE?
Quite simply, the webinars will consist of you filming yourself via your phone, tablet or laptop and you will be provided with a fixed list of questions in advance. Once you have completed your recording can you please send it to Colleen.Galley@beds.ac.uk in a mp4 format.
We approximate the video to last for no longer than five minutes, but this is very much a guidance as this is our first steps in delivering this type of resource. Advice suggests that content should be short and snappy however we are more than happy to receive your feedback on this as well as the questions that we have created.
WHEN WILL THE WEBINARS TAKE PLACE?
The webinars will be uploaded to our website and YouTube channel as soon as we have received them. However, we may need to go through a small editing process to add our project branding but will notify you once these are live.
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
We would love for you to be involved. If you’re interested, please get in touch with Charlotte Patrick (charlotte.patrick@northampton.ac.uk).
WEBINAR QUESTIONS
Can you please answer each question in the order that they appear?
• What is your job? Can you tell us more about it (including your main objectives) and why you chose this career?
• Can you tell us about your career path including your educational route? Do you need qualifications for this job?
• What are the main transferable skills (for example time management, communication) you need to do your job?
• What subjects should I consider studying at school that would be useful in your job?
• What role do digital skills have in your job and what are these (e.g. using Excel)?
• What careers advice would you give me if you had a son or daughter of my age (secondary school ages)?
Huge thanks in advance for your contributions, the Aspire Higher team.
