Careers Guidance
This comprises advice and guidance for individuals through interviews and small group work and involves:
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Clarifying present student position
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Exploring other options
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Evaluating and Challenging Inconsistencies
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Action planning and identification of what needs to be done
Careers Information
Comprehensive and reliable information is accessible to students of all ages and abilities to help them make well-informed and appropriate choices and decisions.
Experiences of Work
Learning about work first hand helps students to develop their understanding of the meaning of work and of the skills that will be most useful to them. This can be developed through projects, business games, mini-enterprise, guest speakers, interviews skills, career conventions, videos, competitions and work experience. Time for work experience. Students take responsibility to locate suitable work experience situations, they will be facilitated by the careers department on request. Our Interview Skills programme involves Years 11, 12 and 14. The support of the local community and Alumni in helping to provide these programmes has been tremendous giving a very real experience to the pupils.
Careers Programme
The careers programme is delivered as a stand-alone subject as follows:
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Year 8&9 – covered through Employability strand of LLW
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Year 10 - 12-1 career class per week
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Year 13 & 14 -1 career class per week
Resources:
There is a comprehensive school careers suite/ library for access to literary resources such as prospectuses, application forms, journals, articles etc. Students use Career software to identify opportunities and access up to date and relevant information on careers, courses and universities.
External Agencies
Careers provision is assisted by external agencies, Careers Advisers from the Department of Economy visit the college weekly to interview all students in Years 10-14. Speakers from Q.U.B., Ulster University, St Mary’s University College, John Moore Liverpool, BMC, SERC and Scottish Universities address the students in Sixth Form. In addition, a range of guest speakers address a number of careers in engineering, IT, nursing and social work.
Open Days
Open Day trips to University or Ulster, Queens University Belfast, St Marys University College, Stranmillis College, Belfast Metropolitan College and local Training Organisations are organised for those who have displayed a commitment to researching these institutions beforehand. Pupils can also attend other Open days by arranging it through the school.
Useful Careers Sites
