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Careers Programme

We at UTCN pride ourselves on offering our students the best opportunities for their future careers in STEM, whether this is by progressing onto university, an apprenticeship or straight into a career.

We ensure that our students are given the best possible advice for their future as well as creating opportunities for them to talk to our employer partners and discuss their options with our Careers Advisor, Christine Walton.

Our progression from UTCN is outstanding. We have high sixth-form progression onto a degree, apprentice or employment. We believe that this is not only due to our fantastic teaching, but also because we provide extra opportunities to experience work, specialist opportunities in STEM and a focused way of learning. We also have unique connections with Norfolk employers. All of our initiatives are there to give our students the best possible start to their future careers in STEM.

Our Careers Lead is Lisa George and she can be contacted on 01603 580280 or lisa.george@utcncst.org

Our Careers Advisor is Christine Walton and she can be contacted on 01603 580280 or christine.walton@utcncst.org

Careers Advice Available at UTCN

Our Careers Advisor, Christine Walton (Registered Career Development Practitioner) works at UTCN in the Library every Tuesday. If you would like an appointment face to face with Mrs Walton, please email her christine.walton@utcncst.org

Alternatively, Mrs Walton can also offer appointments remotely evenings and weekends.

Here are Mrs Walton’s 4 top tips for getting an apprenticeship.

 

 

Careers Appointments

Careers Information: A Parent’s Guide

The future employability of our students is a key priority at UTCN, as reflected in our vision ‘to be the best in developing tomorrow’s engineering, computing and science professionals’, and mission statement, ‘to ensure our students have the skills, qualifications and experience to go to university or to take-up skilled employment’.

Through the Norwich Opportunity Area (https://norwichopportunityarea.co.uk/) project we have been working to enhance careers provision at UTCN, strengthening our stable embedded programme of careers education and guidance, in line with the government’s careers strategy to meet the eight Gatsby Benchmark (https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/schools-colleges/understand-gatsby-benchmarks) standards. We also work with local projects, employers and providers to ensure students are given as many opportunities to engage with the world of work as possible.

Understanding and supporting your child’s careers education will help enable your child to explore and engage with all the options and opportunities available to them, and ultimately make well-informed decisions about their future. Research has demonstrated that the more encounters students have with employers during their secondary education, the more likely they are to stick to a destination, and they could potentially earn up to 16% more across the lifetime of their careers Education and Employers

How can I find out more about careers education at UTCN?

A full description of UTCN’s careers education is in our Careers Strategy.

How best can I support my child in accessing careers information and advice so they can make an informed decision about their future?

Careers education has changed dramatically since we were at school, and there is a lot of information and support available for young people. You could explore some of the websites below with your child and research Labour Market Information (LMI – https://www.lmiforall.org.uk/) together, or encourage them to interview a friend or family member to find out more about what they do and how they got there.

Encourage your child to pursue work experience, whether through the UTCN Y10/6th Form curriculum placements, or extracurricular work experience, shadowing or volunteering during the holidays. Look at the options available to you locally, or perhaps you have a family member with a relevant job that your child could stay with while on a work experience placement?

All UTCN students have access to our Careers Advisor, who has a Level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance and Development and is registered with the CDI as a Registered Career Practitioner. Students can request Careers/IAG appointments at any point while at UTCN and our Librarian & Careers Facilitator is available daily to book appointments. In addition to this staff and parents can make a referral for a student to receive an Careers/IAG appointment on their behalf.

Students identified as at risk of NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) or disadvantaged students are prioritised for additional one to one support. Students with SEND are also prioritised, and their choices for future career and education are considered and discussed when reviewing their support plans. If students from any vulnerable group demonstrate poor attendance or progress their Career/IAG needs are considered when developing support plans for these students.

If parents would like to make a referral for a student to receive a careers appointment please contact the student’s relevant Head of Year.

If you have enquiries about work experience, post-16 or post-18 options, apprenticeships, universities, etc, please contact the school, office@utcncst.org,  who will forward your enquiry to the relevant member of the careers team.

Career Curriculum Overview

(Please note additional employer events may be added to this calendar over the academic year)

Year 10
  • Anglian Water challenge
  • Understanding technical careers open evening
  • One to One IAG/Careers meetings
  • Form Time PSHE sessions
  • Getting Ready for Work Day
  • Year 10 work experience placement
  • Vattenfall workshops
  • RAF Principles of Flight Day
  • Red Bull Sporting Director Q&A
  • RG Carter Bridge Building Workshop
Year 11
  • Understanding technical careers open evening
  • One to One IAG/ Careers meetings
  • Arkwright Scholarship
  • CV and Cover Letter Writing Workshop
  • Red Bull Sporting Director Q&A
  • Careers Fair visits
  • Apprenticeship talks
Year 12
  • Find your future events (2 hours per week)
  • Getting Ready for Work Day
  • Year 12 work experience placement
  • Understanding technical careers open evening
  • COP26 project
  • Warren Services factory tour
  • Red Bull Sporting Director Q&A
  • Engagement with UEA outreach
Year 13
  • One to One UCAS/Apprenticeship support in form time
  • CV & Interview Skills Day
  • Understanding technical careers open evening
  • One to One IAG/ Careers meetings
  • Vattenfall workshops
  • School tours with local employers
  • Red Bull Sporting Director Q&A
  • Engagement with UEA outreach

Helpful Websites

Please see the links below for more information about the benefits of engineering and related careers, HE education institutions and apprenticeships.

General
  • https://helpyouchoose.org/
    • Norfolk County Council’s website for young people in Norfolk to apply for courses, find apprenticeship vacancies and access help and advice. The site also has a Parents section
  • https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/
    • Wide and varied careers information and advice, including job profiles with labour market information, how-to guides (e.g. CVs, application forms etc) and a skills assessment tool.
  • https://icould.com/
    • Uses the power of personal stories to inform and inspire young people’s career choices, with over 1000 videos of real people talking about their careers.
  • https://www.icanbea.org.uk/
    • Information on industries and companies in Norfolk and Suffolk, plus job roles, links to further info and the Career Wizard to help discover different types of careers
  • https://www.lmiforall.org.uk/
    • An activity you can do with your child to find out information about particular jobs including pay and common job role tasks (Labour Market Information/LMI)
Engineering and Related Careers
Further Education Colleges and Sixth Forms
Apprenticeships
Higher Education
Information for Parents/Carers
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