Elmwood School’s Expo Event
Our next careers expo event is due to take place on Wednesday 1st February 2023 at 10.00 am. Please see flyer below for further details.
Compass+ Careers Benchmarking Assessment
These assessments identify the schools progress towards achieving the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks and a comparison towards school nationally. The assessment also enables Senior Leaders to work in collaboration with pupils, parents and employers to resolve some of the outstanding criteria. The assessment is completed every term in collaboration with the schools Enterprise Co-ordinator – Jo Rasmin.
Spring Term 2022 Compass Benchmark
Autumn Term 2021 Compass Benchmark
Year 11 Destination / Retention Information
As part of our commitment to supporting pupils and their families into Post 16, we maintain our close working relationship with pupils; parents/carers and the named Post-16 provider on a termly basis until the age of 18. Look at the successes we have we our leavers, some of whom are part of the Elmwood Alumni.
What is Labour Market Information (LMI)?
LMI is information about the world of work. It includes information such as descriptions of jobs, the skills and qualifications needed for particular jobs and average salaries. LMI also looks at trends in the labour market in terms of which sectors and industries are in demand, which are in decline and which are expected to grow in future.
Information classed as LMI includes:
• Skills, career pathways and progression routes in the local labour market
• Qualifications, training and entry requirements
• Employment sectors, employers, jobs, salaries and employment trends
• Job demands and working life
• Financial planning
How to find LMI:
- Some useful websites include the National Careers Service where you can find out extensive LMI on thousands of jobs. The iCould website also provides job profiles in a more teen friendly, video format and includes the Buzz quiz, a matching quiz which we use in school to help students match their skills and interests to job sectors.
- Click on the images below to view up to date Labour Market Information for Birmingham and the Black Country and a Student and Parent Guide to Black Country LMI.
- Download and read Careers of the Future West Midlands to find out the 40 top jobs of the future.
Explore different occupations using Careerometer
Careerometer can be used to explore and compare key information about occupations, help you learn about different occupations and identify potential careers.
It provides access to a selection of UK headline data relating to pay, weekly hours of work and future employment prospects for different occupations, as well as description of the occupation.
Simply type in the title of the job you are interested in and the widget provides a series of options from which you can select the most relevant to you. You can then look up another two occupations and compare. You can also select ‘display the UK average’ and compare the information with the occupation you have selected. Click on the link below to find out more:
Information for Parents and Carers
As their parent or carer, you are likely to be the single biggest influence on your child’s thoughts and feelings about their future career. It is really important that you are aware of the influence you have and that you try your best to make this positive, supportive and empowering.
Download the guide below which has lots of advice and guidance from supporting you in how to start conversations about careers with your child, looking at skills, explaining pathways into work, qualifications and subject specific information.
Black Country parent and student guide
My Choices SEND Guide.pdf (blackcountrylep.co.uk)
Tips to help your child with their career plans
- Talk to them from time to time about possible careers they might be interested in and why they appeal. Remember that career choice is a personal decision.
-
Encourage them to take an interest in the occupations or past careers of family members and other adults who they come into contact with so they can learn about different career experiences and develop their own network.
-
Help them to explore the possible employers, apprenticeship providers and further education courses available in your local area
-
Attend open events and information sessions with them
-
Encourage them to participate in out of school activities as they are valuable in helping them develop and demonstrate essential skills to future employers and education providers
Useful websites
- The Careers section of this website provides information on all the stages of your child’s journey through Secondary School
- The Careers Writers Association has developed a website aimed at parents and carers that you may find helpful
Our teachers are committed to bringing their subjects to life and bringing careers learning into our classrooms. Some of the methods we use include:
- Inviting external organisations in to support lessons
- Subject enhancement days, Our 2e experiences i.e. STEAM Days, Jaguar Landrover, MAD Museum, Black Country Museum
- Promoting transferable skills such as leadership, communication and preparation for adulthood explicitly through “Funday Friday’s”
- Discussing career aspirations in class and what careers using a particular subject might be like – this is also quality assured through pupil voice and school council.
- Provide opportunities to experience the “World of Work” in collaboration with Black Country Consortium as well as extended Work Experiences at Bank House Farm and Shireoak Motorcycle Academy.
- Careers Expo (for local businesses) to showcase opportunities local to you all.
To find out more about careers linked to school subjects, click here to visit the BBC Bitesize Careers page.
Check the posters below to see which careers some of your favourite subjects could lead to! To find out more, why not look some of the job titles up on the National Careers Service site? You’ll find everything you’ll need to know about thousands of jobs from how much money you could expect to earn, what qualifications you’ll need and what the job actually involves doing on a day to day basis!
Finding a job or voluntary work
The youngest age you can work part-time is 13, except if you are involved in areas such as television, theatre and modelling (children working in these areas will need a performance licence).
You can start full-time work once you have officially left school (you can work up to a maximum of 40 hours a week) but remember that you must be in some form of learning until you are 18 years old. So any job you do, including working for a family business or for yourself (self-employment), must include part-time education or training. Once you reach 18, adult employment rights and rules apply.
More information is available on the government website.
When you are ready to look for a job, these websites and sources can help you find one:
- Job search sites, such as fish4jobs and Get my first job
- Jobcentre Plus (your local job centre).
- Universal jobmatch – this government site enables you to search and apply for full or part-time jobs.
- Local newspapers – for example, the Birmingham Mail features a jobs section every Thursday.
- Employment agencies – they can help you to find temporary and permanent jobs.
- Personal contacts – ask your friends and family if they know about any vacancies.
- Local high streets – you can often find part-time or holiday work advertised in shop or restaurant windows.
- Online directories, such as yell.com to find employers and employment agencies.
- Check employer websites to see if they are advertising any jobs, or consider sending them a speculative letter or CV.
Becoming self employed
You first need to come up with a realistic idea that you can turn into a product or service. You will then need to test the market and develop a business plan. You’ll also need funding to set the business up.
Advice about starting your own business is available on the government website.
You can also contact Shell LiveWIRE. Established in 1982, this programme offers free online business advice and funding for young entrepreneurs (16-30 year olds).
The Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme can help you decide whether self-employment is right for you. It offers help to 18 to 30 year olds who are either unemployed or working less than 16 hours a week.
Minimum wage
The National Minimum Wage rate per hour depends on your age and whether you’re an apprentice.
The rates are usually updated every October. For the latest information go to the Government website.
Working part-time while you’re still at school
You can work part time while you are stillat school but there are some restrictions in place to ensure your safety and wellbeing and to ensure your work does not impact your education. These are:
- You must be at least 13 years old
- You cannot work in places like a factory or industrial site.
Your working hours are also restricted to protect you. You cannot work:
- During school hours.
- Before 7am or after 7pm.
- For more than one hour before school (unless local bylaws allow it).
- For more than 4 hours without taking a break of at least 1 hour.
There are also special rules which only apply during term times and school holidays. For example, during term time you can only work a maximum of 12 hours a week. This includes:
- A maximum of 2 hours on school days/Sundays.
- A maximum of 5 hours on Saturdays for 13 to 14-year-olds or 8 hours for 15 to 16-year-olds.
During school holidays, 13 to 14-year-olds can work a maximum of 25 hours a week. This includes:
- A maximum of 5 hours on weekdays/Saturdays.
- A maximum of 2 hours on Sundays.
During school holidays, 15 to 16-year-olds can work a maximum of 35 hours a week. This includes:
- A maximum of 8 hours on weekdays/Saturdays.
- A maximum of 2 hours on Sundays.
Full details are available on the government website.
Voluntary work
Although the work is usually unpaid, there are lots of good reasons to become a volunteer, such as doing something useful in your spare time, making a contribution to your community, meeting new people, making friends or learning a new skill. It’s also a great way to gain experience, which may also help you with your future career plans.
Use these websites to find out more:
One Walsall and Do itoffers local volunteering opportunities.
National Citizen Service is open to all 16 and 17-year-olds in England. It helps you build your skills for work and life, while you take on new challenges and meet new friends. Participants develop a social action project to deal with a local issue they’re passionate about, and spend 30 hours putting the project into action in their community.
Volunteering Matters. This was formerly called CSV (Community Service Volunteers) and they offer a range of volunteering opportunities.
To support our delivery of careers, Elmwood School has strong partnerships with a wide range of educational institutions, training providers, apprenticeship providers and employers who contribute to our careers programme through:
- Raising aspirations and increasing motivation – helping young people identify educational and occupational goals
- Demonstrating the relevance of the knowledge and skills learnt in subjects to future opportunities in learning and working
- Demonstrating the links between living, learning and earning
- Providing work enrichment opportunities including guest speakers and curriculum support.
Career contacts at Elmwood School:
Mr Lee Cross, Headteacher, (lcross@elmwood.walsall.sch.uk)
Rachael Maybank, Careers Advise, Employment and Skills Team, Walsall MBC (Rachael.Maybank@walsall.gov.uk)