Rye businesses have been taking part in March’s careers fair at Rye College. The event, for key stage 3, attracted organisations like the Rye Retreat, the George Hotel, General Dynamics and Sussex Police. Rye News Press Club reporter Bel dropped by the year 9s session to ask them what they thought.
The year 9s are fast approaching their GCSEs options so the career fair was a perfect chance to start thinking more towards the future.
As a student I noticed much higher engagement with the careers fair than from the careers assemblies, pupils were receiving the same information but able to wander from stall to stall with friends making the process much more relaxed and enjoyable.
The careers fair had a wide range of jobs from self-employed to events planning to large organisations like the police and the fire services. It was really amazing, especially for pupils who weren’t so academically focussed, to be able to look into potential futures that weren’t just college and university. It was great how many local businesses showed up to support the school, and some pupils even mentioned being offered potential Saturday jobs which would never happen if the careers fair featured only colleges and degree level careers.
Lots of pupils I spoke to mentioned how they enjoyed being able to target places they were actually interested in and it was clear having a genuine interest for a specific career meant they were able to ask more insightful questions and receive helpful career specific advice. The fair was highly useful for pupils who had vague ideas in mind but less helpful for pupils who were really unsure or didn’t properly engage. I thought some optional sentence starters and questions might have been beneficial for some pupils as most stations expected you to come to them.
Lots of people also benefitted from advice on job applications and being interviewed. One girl I spoke to said: “I was talking to the guy from the George Hotel in Rye and I don’t want to go into that industry, but he had some good advice to take opportunities when they come to you. He said that he was working as a porter and when they needed some people up front and he was like ‘I’ll help’. And that’s how he ended up being a concierge. So, just take opportunities.”
The event was organised by Miss Starkey who told me why learning about careers is so important. “Careers events are a great way to sample futures and the year 9s seemed to really benefit. A big thank you from Rye College to all the local businesses who got involved.”
I asked some of the pupils taking part what they thought.
Do you think the careers fair is helpful?
Yeah, it shows us what’s available in our area.
It helps a lot because you can talk to people who actually do the job. and find out a bit more in depth.
I found it really interesting, especially a lot of the ones about universities and colleges because that’s more relevant to me right now.
I think they’re really helpful because they’re more interactive so it lets you talk to all different people who have done different qualifications and how they got to their level. And find out what they do and what you have to do to get there. You find out
a bit more about their journey.
Yes because unless you meet actual people who do it, you don’t really understand their jobs.
It meant we could ask our own questions. It’s way easier to ask questions at these, rather than in an assembly where you have to put your hand up.
Which stalls did you find the best?
I found the ones on colleges most interesting because I want to know what I can take further and how I can get into my jobs.
I quite liked the police, I think that’s a good one (they’d been having glowing reviews all day) there was a bunch of stuff on the table, so they were quite easy to talk to. You need an A, one A level and best in English GCSE. It was quite helpful to know exactly what to aim for.
I’d say maybe the vet one because it shows how much stuff you can do with animals.
The Army. I was talking to the Army. As I’m actually potentially signing up. Just like, a lot of learning there. But also Focus SB. They did the light switches, and they were telling us about what they actually do. So, they don’t install them, they just make them. Some of it’s handmade and some of it’s not, it was actually quite fun to find out all about it.
Well I want to be an artist and there was someone here who was actually an artist. He was really interesting to talk to. He said about how he works in a studio and all the things he does being an artist. He’s a contemporary artist and he does shows in London and he also does oil painting. I just thought it was really interesting.
There were lots I liked! I enjoyed looking at East Sussex College. I liked their opportunities, talking about their dance and drama. And Little Gate because I go to Young Rangers, so I liked hearing about their, like, supported apprenticeships, and supported internships (which are especially focused to support people with SEND).
If you could see one more group here who aren’t here today who would you want to see?
More creative careers there’s an artist here but apart from that there’s not really very many creative opportunities.
I’d really like to see some architects.
What did you think of how the careers fair was run?
We all had clipboards which I think is good because it encourages you to write things down, which is important. But it also it makes you feel like you have to write things down from every place you go to and I wasn’t interested in every place. The clipboards
are good to show what you’ve learned but sometimes it feels like you’re just focusing on writing.
The Press Club is a joint project between Rye News and Rye College which sees students reporting on life at school and beyond.
Image Credits: Rye News Press Club , Rye Press Club .