The main hall in Rye College was buzzing with interest on Wednesday March 8 when the college held its first ever careers fair for Key Stage 3 students, as part of National Careers Week. The room was full of local businesses wanting to inspire the students in Years 7, 8 and 9 and raise their aspirations. The employers helped to introduce students to the world of work, and inform them of what exciting prospects lay ahead for them in Rye in terms of jobs, training and apprenticeships.
The children were asking really interesting and detailed questions, showing how much they had thought about the event before arriving in the hall. One boy from Year 8 was delighted to find that RX Architects had a table and made a bee-line straight for it armed with lots of questions; he was not disappointed with the answers. It was obvious that the stall-holders had a genuine interest in being there to encourage the youngsters on their first step in choosing a career to suit them, and they had endless patience in answering the questions put to them.
Donna Starkey, who is Learning Director for Key Stage 4 and leads on careers and life education in the college, organised the Careers’ Event with local businesses and said: “One of the things that was praised in our recent Ofsted report was the careers provision for our students. This is something that we have worked hard to develop over the last ten years, securing the Quality in Careers standard in recognition of this. Ofsted commented that our students are ‘well-prepared for their next steps which is a testament to our vision of creating bright futures for all’.
“The sooner we can get students involved in thinking about careers the better, as it can help bring the curriculum to life. We are working really hard to build strong relationships with the local businesses and community. Today shows how successful that is because of the number of businesses that have come to advise the students and give up a day of their valuable time. It is because they care about the future of our youngsters. We are hugely grateful for their support. If there are any other local employers who would be keen to get involved with the work we do here at Rye College, please contact me via office@ryecollege.co.uk.”
Jane Cathcart, representing Heringtons Solicitors, (a local firm in Rye and five other locations) explained: “It’s great to be here talking to so many inspirational students who have very high hopes for their careers. We have been explaining a bit about what a career in law entails and what their career progression potential could be in what can be an interesting and varied career. The students have been asking lots of interesting questions and it is good to see that their eyes are open in the career world and looking around and see how they can progress. With such a good Ofsted report recently the college is focussing on how their students can really achieve great things. Three-quarters of our partners in the firm are women and it is becoming very much a women’s profession which is very apt for International Women’s Day today.”
General Dynamics also had a stall and Imogen and Dominic explained that they were linked with Rye College as their Enterprise Advisers and work closely with the careers team to help them develop links with local businesses to enable the students to access the best routes for their chosen careers. Dominic commented: “We are the third-largest employer in Hastings and we want to open up the opportunities that we offer to all the children in the area. We offer apprenticeships in engineering and manufacturing and finance and PR. There are lots of routes to go down but mainly we assist students to apply for apprenticeships.”
Gordon Atkins from Action Watersports represented his firm because he wanted to encourage children to apply for jobs as open water lifeguards which quite often lead onto other careers such as ski-boat driving and water-ski instructing and they offer Jet ski RYA PWC courses. He wants to encourage children to step out of their comfort zone so that they build their confidence. Aqua Sports offers people the chance to experience stand-up paddle-boarding, wake-boarding, water-skiing and to learn to be safe on water whilst having fun.
Isla, a year 8 pupil, summed up what she got out of the day: “It is good way for us all to learn about more about the jobs on offer from the local businesses in more detail. You can ask in-depth questions and get answers. I learnt about apprenticeships with Volker Stevin and they said you don’t necessarily have to have a degree to get started in your chosen career. I spoke to the police and found that interesting too.”
Hospitality is a popular career path for many youngsters and Martin Blincow from The Mermaid was on hand to offer advice and support. He explained: “The Mermaid believes strongly in developing young people and offering opportunities in the UK’s fourth largest employment sector, and one in which there are at present 160,000 vacancies, not least because Rye’s economy is very much geared towards the hospitality sector.
“Young people need Information, then advice and guidance as they start their careers, and that key decision at sixteen as to the next step towards employment.
“The fair at Rye College is just part of the work The Mermaid has been committed to, which recently has included work experience last week for a Robertsbridge College student, weekly work experience for a student from Bexhill Sixth Form College in reception, supported work placement from Little Gate Farm School, visits from Claverham, The Workplace and Playden Primary.
“Employers need to be involved in the process of IAG to enable young people to make the transition from education to employment.”
Gary Bourn, Watch Manager at Rye Fire Station, manned one of the most visited tables in the room. He said that it was really important to let the students know all the different roles that can be offered by the fire service including, engineering, fire safety, HR and admin. Apprenticeships are offered at eighteen and students need Maths and English GCSEs to proceed.
It was a wonderful, energising day and the students gained an in-depth insight into many possible careers.
Image Credits: Kt bruce .