Cliona McMenamin

Head of Careers and Teacher of Mathematics at Dubai College

Workshop Information:

This session empowers educators to embed future-readiness and wellbeing into their everyday practice by equipping them with practical, research-informed strategies to support students' career thinking, resilience, and sense of purpose.

Rather than treating careers education as a standalone topic, the session demonstrates how it can be woven meaningfully across subjects, pastoral care, and wider school life. This can help all students, including those who are anxious, neurodiverse, or unsure of their direction, to take ownership of their futures.

By the end of the session, participants will feel confident to lead impactful career conversations, challenge university snobbery, promote inclusive definitions of success, and support students in navigating their next steps with clarity and care. This is about moving from guidance to empowerment and ensuring every young person can see themselves in the future they're working towards.

In an ever-changing world, preparing students for the future must go beyond qualifications and academic achievement. This session challenges schools to reframe career education as a whole-school responsibility. One that empowers students to build confidence, resilience, and a clear sense of purpose.

This session draws on over 20 years of expertise across the UK and UAE, and showcases how to embed career readiness from Key Stage 3 to Sixth Form. With a unique blend of research, practice, and wellbeing theory, Cliona will guide educators in designing programmes that help students answer not just what they want to be, but who they are becoming.

Attendees will explore how career education can be woven into tutor time, PSHE, subject lessons, and pastoral care. This will allow schools to create a culture where students of all backgrounds and abilities feel supported in their next steps. This includes strategies for engaging neurodiverse learners, those experiencing anxiety or decision paralysis, and those facing unrealistic prestige pressures.

Whether you’re a classroom teacher, pastoral lead, or member of the senior leadership team, this session will offer tools and insights to help every student become future-ready, not just for university or work, but for a meaningful and sustainable life.

Session Outcomes:

Key Themes:

• The link between career guidance, purpose, and student wellbeing

• Starting early: how to introduce meaningful career conversations from Key Stage 3

• Addressing university snobbery and broadening student aspiration

• Supporting vulnerable, anxious, and neurodiverse learners in future planning

• Building a culture of curiosity, confidence, and long-term self-awareness

Practical strategies to integrate careers and wellbeing throughout the school

• Case studies from careers programmes (KS3–KS5)

• Ideas for partnerships with parents, alumni, and employers to build career capital

• A fresh perspective on what success really means in the 21st century