A stable careers programme

Gatsby Benchmark 1

Follow the link to explore examples of events showcasing Gatsby Benchmarks 1-8

Every college should have an embedded programme of career education and guidance that is known and understood by learners, parents, teachers, employers and other agencies.

Every college should have a stable, structured careers programme that has the explicit backing of the senior management team, and has an identified and appropriately trained person responsible for it.
The careers programme should be published on the college’s website in a way that enables learners, parents, college staff and employers to access and understand it.
The programme should be regularly evaluated, with feedback from learners, parents, college staff and employers as part of the evaluation process.

Referenced from : https://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance

Leaflet for Colleges: https://www.gatsby.org.uk/uploads/education/final-0099-gcg-college-booklet-a5-4pp-rgb-aw1.pdf

Career education, information, advice and guidance policy (Nov 2024).pdf

Our Careers Programme

Our careers programme is designed to inform and inspire the next steps for our students. As a college, it is important to us to provide information to all of our students about all the possible routes they can take. For this reason our careers programme includes an array of activities and opportunities that advise on higher education, apprenticeships, the world of work, gap years, the armed forces and work with training.

Gatsby Benchmarks

Sir John Holman, a former Headteacher and founder of the National STEM Learning Centre, was asked by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation to undertake an independent, international review of career guidance. He visited six countries, analysed good practice in English schools and did a comprehensive review of current literature. From all of this, Sir John wrote the Good Career Guidance Report. In the report he identifies what 'good' looks like and outlines a framework of eight benchmarks that schools can use to improve their career guidance system.

Career Guidance for FE and Sixth Form Colleges

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/679639/Careers-Guidance.pdf

Gatsby Benchmarks (click here for more information)

This also includes help for teaching departments and how to link careers into the curriculum.

http://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance

How does Blackpool Sixth meet the Gatsby Benchmarks?

Good careers education advice, information and guidance allows our students to make informed choices throughout their transitional stages. In addition quality careers guidance inspires students and allows them to experience and investigate their next steps in a safe and nurturing environment. The Gatsby Benchmarks provides a framework as to what a good careers provision should look like. In addition to assessing the college against the Gatsby Benchmarks we also measure impact of our careers provision through destination, retention and attainment data.

Please see the article to the right of the Connect Spring 2021 newsletter highlighting the work Blackpool Sixth and the Futures Team are making towards achieving the Gatsby Benchmarks (page 27)

1436_Connect_Spring_Edition_2021_Final.pdf

Labour Market Information

The term ‘labour market’ is used to refer to the interactions between those in need of labour (employers or buyers), and those who can supply labour (employees or sellers). The labour market is in a constant state of change as it responds to the needs of employers, who in turn respond to influences in the wider environment.

For more information on Labour Market Information (click here)

Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship is a real job where you learn, gain experience and get paid. You're an employee with a contract of employment and holiday leave.

For our Apprenticeship links please click here

To gain an understanding of apprenticeship see the links below:

https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/

https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/

The Apprenticeship, Support & Knowledge Project (ASK)

Schools and educational establishments in England can access the very latest apprenticeship information through live broadcasts – completely free of charge! Don’t worry if you can’t make the live broadcast – your students can watch on catch-up at a time to suit you.

https://resources.amazingapprenticeships.com/live-broadcasts/