A Careers Fair was held at the academy to raise awareness of post 16 options, raise aspirations and connect our students with real world employers and apprenticeship providers. We wanted all our students to develop skills, such as good eye contact and positive body language as well as helping them to increase their confidence and self-esteem in speaking to new people.
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.
For the Careers Fair on 25/01/2024, over 22 external providers attended the event. Students had direct contact with providers such as: Vallely Tankers, BJSS, Civil Service, T Clarke, Leeds City College, Leeds College of Building, Kirklees College, Wakefield College, Nacro, Learning Curve, MPCT. Direct Skills (AKA Yorkshire College of Beauty), The University of Bradford, Leeds University Centre, Leeds Health and Care Academy, The Leeds Apprenticeship Hub, Askham Bryan, The British Army, The Aviation Academy, Harrison Spinks, The National Horse Racing College, and Spear, just to name a few!
Students learned about a variety of job areas, some of which, they had never considered before. For example, T Clarke – was discussing the installation of underground pipes and looking at the different departments within the civil service. Colleges and universities raised awareness of routes into FE, HE, qualifications required what they could study and much more. The event was a whole school approach with all school years being involved from Year 7 to 11. Teaching staff supported the students within the event. Students were further supported by using a tailored worksheet, which would help them ask relevant questions and record responses. 110 secondary students attended the Careers Fair.
Student feedback was collected from all students in year groups 7-11 who completed forms.
The main question asked was: How useful did you find the Careers Fair in helping you think about the options that you have in the future?
Students were asked to circle a Score 1-5, with 5 = Very useful and 1 = Not Useful at all.
73% of students said they found the Careers Fair very useful or useful in helping them think about their future options. 93% would recommend the Careers Fair to other students. Only 7% 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.
“It was good!”
“They should come more often so we know what we can do when we leave school.”
“Leeds City College had some good things to do.”
Below are a few of the feedback comments from the providers:
“Well run and attended. Good level of interaction from students” Hugh (Leeds College of Building)
“The students were really interested in the variety of jobs we offer. The sheet they used was a really good idea to prompt questions.” George (Janet Clark – Civil Service)
“Good Teacher support to encourage pupils to communicate.” (T Clarke – Employer)
“Enjoyed interacting with the students, the sheet the students used was useful to help them to focus the conversation. Everyone has been respectful, a credit to themselves and the academy. Well done!” (Leeds Health and Care Academy NHS)
Overall, the Careers Fair at The Stephen Longfellow Academy 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.
There were some areas for development: such as two providers said they struggled to access the Wi-Fi signal. We will ensure that the Wi-Fi is more accessible for providers at the fair for the following year. We also aim to make the Fair more hands on and interactive for our learners.
Raj Gill (Senior Careers Officer)