A Careers Fair was held at The Stephen Longfellow Academy to raise awareness of post 16 options and connect students with real world employers, colleges, universities, and training providers. We wanted all our students to develop key skills such as eye contact, positive body language and confidence in speaking to new people and gaining information about their futures.
Students were prepared for the event through form time presentations, making them aware of the value of the Careers Fair and its relevance to their future. Emphasis was also placed on how students need to come across to employers. Prior to the event, letters were sent home to all students in our Secondary phase to raise awareness of the event and it was also promoted on the website.
By undertaking the Careers Fair, we are working towards meeting the Gatsby benchmarks for good CIAG practice and made sure our students are being provided with a variety of careers interventions.
The Careers Fair was delivered on 24/03/2022, A range of providers attended the day. Students had direct contact with employers such as Morgan Sindall, Leeds Welding Company, Willmott Dixon, and the Civil Service. Two universities attended: Bradford University and Leeds Beckett University, who brought with them student ambassadors to engage our students. A variety of colleges attended, such as: Elliott Hudson College, Leeds City College, Kirklees, Leeds College of Building and Wakefield. The Leeds City Council Apprenticeship Hub spoke to our students about accessing apprenticeships and gaining support over the summer. The event was even more significant for Y11 as there were many training providers invited who could offer some of our most vulnerable Year 11 students a post 16 place with different requirements to mainstream colleges, such as Somerville House.
The event was a whole school approach with all school years being involved from Year 7 to 11. Teaching staff supported the students at the event. Students were further supported by using a tailored worksheet, which would help them ask relevant questions and record responses. 85 secondary students attended the Careers Fair.
Student feedback was collected from all year groups. The main question asked was: How useful did you find the Careers Fair in helping you think about your future options?
Students were asked to circle a Score 1-5, with 5 = Very useful and 1 = Not Useful at all.
72% of students said they found the Careers Fair “Very useful/Most of it was useful”. 23% of students said, only “Some parts of the Careers Fair were useful”. 90% would recommend the Careers Fair to other students. Only 6% said the Careers Fair wasn’t useful in helping them think about their futures.
Below are some of the comments which students had written down in the other comments box on feedback forms.
“The Roofing stall was really good”.
“The people from Leeds City College were friendly and did courses close to my home.”
“I signed up to the Apprenticeship Hub”.
“It was very useful to help me for the future.”
There were some areas for development such as some students said they would have liked to see some retail employers, and another student mentioned that the Royal Navy wasn’t present. These areas of development will be taken on board.
Providers were also asked to provide feedback. Some of which can be seen below:
“The younger year groups were very eager to ask questions and find out more. Older year groups were a little quieter, however, I felt the sheet you provided, gave them a useful tool to find out information about their options. The sports hall was a great size for the careers fair. The planning seemed seamless. Thanks for having me.” Romy Beer (Leeds City College)
“The students made a positive attempt to speak to us and learn more about Leeds Beckett University.” George (Leeds Beckett University – Student Ambassador)
“Some of the students seemed to have a genuine interest in the construction industry and wanted to know more.” Sarah Muscas (Morgan Sindall)
“Interested students. A pleasure to talk with. Everything worked well, thank you for having me.” Dan Bordoley (Leeds College of Building)
Overall, the Careers Fair at The TSLA was a success in raising awareness of post 16 options but more importantly, helping Year 11 focus on their next steps and promoting access to realistic pathways.
Raj Gill (Senior Careers Officer)