On Monday 3rd March, we launched our events schedule for National Careers Week 2014 and this past week has been a whirlwind of activities!
To start the event, a group of 40 Year 9 students visited Hull Training at Craven Park to take part in some taster activities to show the range of apprenticeships available to to them once they finish Malet Lambert.
In small groups they got to try out Engineering, Catering, Business, Construction and Motor Vehicle Engineering.
The hands-on activities like smoothie making, decorating, virtual welding and circuit making really engaged the students and helped them understand the types of courses they could do and what jobs they get in the future.
Meanwhile, back at school, Year 10 were taking part in a leadership and team building challenge with entrepreneur Phil Benson of Xing Smoothies. During this they were even taught a dance routine, to demonstrate how exercise can help relieve stress.
On Tuesday, Y8 and Y9 students who were interested in a future career in Public Services were put through their paces by Wilberforce College in a military training exercise and team building activities.
Students had to practise a military drill before showing their prowess in listening and communications games, to give them a practical feel of what a Public Services course is like.
Year 9 student Wes, who was applauded for his effort and commitment during the tasks, said, “The activities we’ve done today have been so much fun, I’ve really enjoyed it. I already know I’d like to do a course in this subject and I’ll definitely be looking at Wilberforce.”
Engaging Education, who help us run creative transition activity sessions for primary school pupils, took over the LRC for half a day on Wednesday to work with Year 7 students on a board game showing all the different ways to get to a successful career from school.
Students worked in groups to produce a concept and write their quiz cards. Engaging Education will them look at all the designs and create a real board game from them that the students can play.
Alongside these course taster sessions, we’ve also seen some bigwigs in business grace our classrooms to talk about how they got where they are today, what employability skills you need to succeed and what job opportunities are available in their area.
Our speakers have included Kit Hargreaves (The Levels Scheme), Gerard Toplass (entrepreneur and business investor), Andrew Garvey (marketing consultant), Michael Oughtred (owner of Jacksons Bakery), Ann Newlove (Business Manager at ESTEEM, and author of ‘Employability what?’) and Esther Damary-Thompson (Marketing Manager).
Sue Vincent, from wind farm company Forewind, also went the extra mile - or even the extra 214 miles - to get here. The PR and Communications Manager travelled all the way from London for the day to chat to Y7 and Y9 about the opportunities that will be available to them in a variety of skills areas once a brand new offshore wind farm has been constructed at Dogger Bank in the North Sea.
She said, “The new wind farm is of great importance to Hull, and other towns and cities along the north east coast. It will bring hundreds of new, skilled jobs to the area during development and construction, and also once it is built - which will be more relevant to these students as they will be at school leaving age when this comes about.
“This is the first time we have really been into a school and coming to Malet Lambert during Careers Week was the perfect choice for us.
“We have a strong relationship with Malet Lambert, as three teachers here are ambassadors for Forewind.
“The students were great, especially the Year 7 class. They had lots of well-thought out, pertinent questions and were very interested in the industry.
"It was a pleasure to come and speak to students. I hope I’ve inspired some to think about a career related to the wind-farm industry as they get older. Many young people don’t even realise it is an option.”
The biggest event of the week so far has been the Careers Fair, attended by Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11.
Representatives from colleges, training providers and national employers (armed forces, police force) were on hand to answer questions about taster days, open evenings and specific course queries.
Students had half an hour in groups to ask questions and find out more about courses and training and many commented that they had found out some really useful information, especially about taster courses at college.
Business champion and maths teacher, Mrs Shaw, who led the organisation of this year’s event hopes students took a lot away from the activities they attended this week.
She said, “We’ve been able to put on some great sessions this week, due to the strong industry links we have as a school.
“Anecdotal feedback from students has been brilliant so far, with lots of praise going to practical activities and to our speakers, who created some engaging tasks and presentations for their classes.
“Our aim wasn’t to ensure that all students have a specific career in mind, but to show them all the various ways they can be successful after school and leave them understanding the options available to them and the wide range of jobs that are out there.
“We’ll be formally evaluating the event with our students next week, which will give us a good starting point for next year’s National Careers Week.”
Assistant head Stephen Logan aslo commented, "We are proud to have been a part of National Careers Week. Providing our students with quality careers information advice and guidance is an essential part of preparing students for their future employability.
"I would like to thank our business community, colleges, training and further education providers for not only supporting this week, but for supporting us throughout the year. I would also like to thank Nick Newman, founder of Careers Week, and his team."
Hull Training
Phil Benson (Xing Smoothies)
Wilberforce College
Sue Vincent - Forewind
Kit Hargreaves - Levels Scheme
Engaging Education
Lindsey West - Garthwest Packaging and Platform
Gerard Toplass, Andrew Garvey, Martin Shaw & Michael Oughtred - Founders4Schools
Ann Newlove - Esteem
Esther Damary-Thompson - Forward & Thinking
Amy Blenkiron - University of Hull
Mark Davidson - Hobson & Porter
Wyke College
Lee Falcus - HSBC
…and all colleges and training providers who attended our Careers Fair!
Who’s been talking about us on Twitter this week??
Esther DT @Estie_dt - Absolutely loved talking to @maletlambert students for @CareersWeek #inspirational and some super marketers of the future #gogetit
Garthwest Creative @G_W_Creative - @maletlambert thanks very much for inviting me today. Great bunch of young people, lot of talent, some #digital #entrepreneurs for sure!
Ann Newlove @AnnNewlove - @CareersWeek @CareersDefender @maletlambert the students were fab, and I really appreciate their patience when the photographer showed up!
Mike Cargill @stemmymike - @maletlambert very busy at careers week. Good IAG going on.
Engaging Education @EngagingE - Final 5 mins until deadline @CareersWeek boardgame designs looking great! Can't wait to transform them! @maletlambert pic.twitter.com/uDTGm8Oh5A
Hull Training @HCCTraining - Thanks @maletlambert for inviting us to your careers fair today #NCW2014 #NAW2014 Lots of info for pupils on its way…
NationalCareersWeek @CareersWeek - @maletlambert @WilberforceSFC @TheLevelScheme fantastic - you guys rock as a school :) #NCW2014