Year 12 Work Experience Launch Dates: 15th – 19th July 2019

Grey Court is an ‘Investor in Careers’ School Careers education is an important part of the Grey Court Sixth form experience. We have been an accredited ‘Investor in Careers’ school since 2007 and again in 2018 As a part of this all students will do work experience in Summer 2019 to develop employability skills. There are also various opportunities throughout the year for support with thinking about their future options including events and talks e.g. Careers fair, Friends and Founders eve and Mock interviews.

Why should I do work experience Employability skills UCAS/Job Applications/Higher Apprenticeships Unique Selling Point – what makes you stand out in the crowd Boost your CV Gain an insight into a particular industry Helps you consider careers for the future/inspiration/new ideas Networking/Future contacts/references It shows passion and interest in that field of work Try the job before you commit to anything Develop your job searching skills A Recent research study by Highfliers said that, "graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer for their organisations’ graduate programmes."

What is work experience? Spending one week either work shadowing or doing a work placement. Work placement – hands on practical experience of a job role. Work shadowing - those jobs where you can’t actually do the job until you are qualified e.g. surgeon, solicitor etc and you are gaining an insight in to the area of work by observing and talking to staff Linked to your studies or future aspirations Look for a challenging placement not nando’s!

Advice on finding a placement What is the relevance to your future studies? Prospects website https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree for ideas Think about practicalities e.g. travel distance, cost Ask around the school. Speak to students who completed work experience last year & look at the list on the WEX board Discuss your ideas with your tutors, teachers, parents & careers adviser Use your contacts!!! Speak to Bernie Corrighan (Careers) who is the contact in school for WEX

Start early, research and be proactive It is the students responsibility to find a placement – you must complete the WEX form Identify the areas of work you are interested in and start to contact relevant organisations Start contacting people now – you are competing with other students in other schools for placements Contact the companies with a CV and cover letter/email Look up contacts within companies – this could be HR, Apprenticeship/WEX link, Head of the Dept Look for opportunities to network – Careers events, F&F Evening, talks Kingston hospital link – we will advertise this but it will involve an application and interview

Timeline 2018-19 October 10th Student briefing on Work Experience October 10th Way Ahead Careers Fair 6.30-8pm Networking for WEX October-December Students work on CV and researching companies in tutor time, enrichment and at home December 13th Friends & Founders evening – networking and CV review February half term Deadline for own job finds – WEX Placement form completed February – April Work experience clinics for students with no placement May-June Year 12 exams Early July Briefing on work experience week July 15th-19th Work experience week Work experience feedback & keep record for personal statement. Bernie Corrighan (Careers Adviser) is in the Sixth Form every Wednesday if anyone has any questions.

Information we need from ALL students - WEX Placement form Information on the Work experience page on the website under ‘Sixth form’ http://www.greycourt.richmond.sch.uk/Work-Experience

Future networking opportunites Wednesday 10th October Way Ahead Careers Fair 6.30-8.00 Thursday 13th December 2016 7.00pm- Networking opportunities for possible work experience links Friday 23rd November – London Skills Fair

Next steps: In tutor time you will complete a survey of interests Start researching! Come to the careers fair tonight Friends and Founders evening – CV clinics