Student & Parent/Carer Careers Library
Job Exploration
Job/Career exploration is an important step in helping a student fulfil long term employment goals. This exploration can help a student connect to a path that is aspirational, appealing, fulfilling, and leads to a desired career.
Below are some useful websites students and their parent/carer can look at together to aid job exploration:
- BBC Bitesize Careers - for a variety of really good short careers insight and careers advice videos.
- Careers Box - bank of careers videos
- Career Pilot - An online resource that helps you consider your options. This resource has a range of sections dedicated to job sectors, qualifications, identifying and recording skills and an online test.
- Get Into Theatre - hundreds of ways to enter careers working in the theatre. Ideas on where and how to start and step by step guides to support you.
- icould - videos to get an insight into careers and work, and draw links between subjects and jobs.
- Job Today - for a variety of video career guides and job profiles.
- Screen Skills - explore careers in film, TV, games, animation or VFX, and browse job profiles. Interesting 360 experience of a first day on a film set.
Colleges and Alternative Providers
There are a number of local colleges and alternative providers that offer courses from Entry Level all the way to Level 3 and A levels. We as a school partner with quite a few of these providers as part of our Sixth form offer.
To find out more about these provisions click on the links below:
Supported Internships
A Supported Internship is a study programme aimed at young people aged 16 to 24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and want to move into employment but need some extra support. An internship usually lasts for a year, with the opportunity to complete three different placements.
Supported Internships give young people an opportunity to take their first steps into the world of employment, build skills in the workplace, gain qualifications, and get a paid job. The internships offer a unique mix of education and job coaching in a range of different roles, including:
- Admin
- Catering
- Customer Service
- Housekeeping
- Horticulture
- IT
- Maintenance
- Retail
- Sports Coaching
- Transport (TFL)
- and many more
There are a number of Local Supported Internship Providers like:
- Ambitious College Supported Internships - for young people with an ASD diagnosis
- The Autism Project - for young people who have autism aged between 18 and 25
- Ellingham
- Hackney Project Search Supported Internships @ Hackney Council & Homerton Hospital
- Mencap Supported Internships - for Islington and Waltham Forest residents
- National Star - North East London Supported Internship
- New City College Supported Internships - for Tower Hamlets residents
- TfL Steps Into Work
- The Tower Project
Supported Internships are typically unpaid but there are some internships that are paid. An example of this is Ambitious About Autism's paid work experience internships. To find out more about this visit Ambitious About Autism - Paid work experience.
This easy read guide can also give you more information about Supported Internships: https://www.ndti.org.uk/assets/docs/What-are-Supported-Internships-Easy-Read.pdf
Apprenticeships
An apprenticeship program trains a worker to become skilled in a particular trade. Apprenticeships combine hands-on work with classroom learning to train the apprentice. Apprenticeships are considered full-time employment. As the apprentice is learning, they are also applying the lessons through working.
A student with SEND is capable of progressing on to an Apprenticeship but in order to be considered they will need the required qualifications for the level of Apprenticeship they are applying for. It is important to remember Apprenticeships are very competitive and it can be difficult to be accepted on to one.
There are some SEND specific Apprenticeships but the majority of paid Apprenticeships are for young people working at Level 2 and above.
Below are some websites with more information about Apprenticeships and Apprenticeship opportunities:
- Apprenticeships - Everything you need to know about becoming an apprentice and access to live apprenticeships
- Find an apprenticeship
- Government Apprenticeship Information
Other Useful Careers Information Websites
- Hackney Local Offer - Services for 0 -25 with SEN, disabilities or additional needs. Good links to providers and opportunities in the borough.
- Disability Rights UK - Includes lots of useful Careers guidance and information about work rights.
- Parental Guidance - is a website written by The Careers Writers Association that gives some useful advice to parents regarding their son/daughter’s future plans and has some excellent links to other, additional resources.