Progression
Progression is at the centre of everything we do at Harton Academy. Successful students tend to be those that have a clear focus and plan for the future and throughout their time at Harton Academy we try to ensure that this is not just left to chance. In an increasingly competitive employment, further education and higher education market it is vital that students have the necessary skills and qualities, as well as qualifications, to be successful and we work closely with local businesses, universities, colleges and training providers to ensure that students receive relevant and realistic advice about all their future options. In addition, students have the opportunity, throughout their time at Harton Academy, to book appointments with our own professionally qualified careers advisor (or an independent careers advisor, if they would prefer) to discuss their plans and what they need to do to be successful.
For full details of the School’s Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) programme, please click on the following link:
Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) programme
Provider Access Policy
Whilst we hope you find the links below useful and informative, we would like to stress that their inclusion on our website does not imply endorsement by Harton Academy and there may be other websites and resources that students could also find useful.
Careers
The National Careers Service: https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/Pages/Home.aspx website has some excellent careers information on it, including entry routes, skills required and pay. It also gives you details of some alternative, related careers and gives you the chance to read some up-to-date and accurate labour market information i.e. are there going to be more or less jobs in the future, and where will they be located. Simply click on the link for ‘careers advice’ and then select ‘job profiles’. You can then type in a keyword or search via one of the different sector areas.
The icould website http://icould.com/ contains lots of short films featuring people talking about their jobs; it is a different way of learning about a wide range of occupational area. It also has a link to the ‘Buzz’ quiz, which helps you think about your personality and preferences and how these could help you think about your longer term plans.
Similar to icould, Careersbox: http://www.careersbox.co.uk/ is a website that has videos of individuals who work in particular jobs and industries. There are also films about some companies who offer apprenticeship schemes and others by a number of universities.
The Prospects website: https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree has lots of interesting information for students considering university, including a section that outlines what current undergraduate students, studying particularly subjects, will likely consider as future employment opportunities once they graduate.
Further Education
6th Forms
Harton Academy has its own 6th Form: https://harton-tc.co.uk/sixth-form/, offering a range of A-level subjects as well as other Level 3 qualifications. However, there are also other 6th Forms in the local area that students could consider applying to.
Colleges
There are a number of local Further Education Colleges that students can choose to progress onto. They offer a wide range of vocational subjects and some also offer A-levels or similar, more academic, qualifications.
South Tyneside College: http://www.stc.ac.uk/
Gateshead College: http://www.gateshead.ac.uk/
Newcastle College: http://www.ncl-coll.ac.uk/
Sunderland College: http://sunderlandcollege.ac.uk/
Tyne Metropolitan College: http://www.tynemet.ac.uk/
Training
As an alternative to college, students could also consider applying directly to a local training provider. There are a significant number of training providers in the Tyne & Wear area, including South Tyneside, covering a diverse range of occupational areas. For more information, please speak to the school’s Student Progression Manager or, for opportunities within South Tyneside, South Tyneside’s Training Provider Network (STTPN).
Apprenticeships
The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) website: https://www.gov.uk/topic/further-education-skills/apprenticeships has lots of information about apprenticeships for young people, their parents and prospective employers. It also includes listings of current vacancies although you need to be registered in order to actually apply for any of these vacancies. In addition, it contains some excellent support materials for making a successful application: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/apprenticeships-resources-for-teachers-and-advisers#resources-for-learners
The NAS website also has details of current traineeship vacancies.
Connexions (Tyne & Wear) also have a website: http://www.connexions-tw.co.uk/vacancies that has useful apprenticeship information on it, as well as the details of some current apprenticeships in the region. Once again, you need to be registered in order to make any applications online.
Rising Star: http://zenithrisingstar.com/ is a recruitment business, located in South Tyneside, who are totally focused on helping young people find employment.They list current vacancies on their website and also support individuals with their applications through the employment ‘boot camps’ that they run.
School Leaver Programmes
School leaver programmes are increasing in number and provide a fantastic alternative to Higher Education – although many of the programmes also involve you studying for a degree whilst getting paid and gaining important work experience.
If you are interested in working for a major national/international company like those listed below, go to the Student Ladder website: http://www.studentladder.co.uk/ and do some research on their school leaver programmes or work experience opportunities. There are ICT, financial, engineering, legal, human resource, accountancy opportunities, amongst others, available.
Here are some examples of the types of companies who offer school leaver programmes: British Airways, Bank of England, KPMG, Laing O’Rourke, Jaguar Land Rover, National Grid, Siemens, Mars, Aviva, Channel 4, IBM, Boots and Harrods.”
Similar opportunities are also advertised on:
Rate my Apprenticeship: http://www.ratemyapprenticeship.co.uk/top-employers
All About Careers: http://www.allaboutcareers.com/jobs
Degree Level Apprenticeship
If you are interested in degree level apprenticeships, then you can use the UCAS Career Finder tool: https://careerfinder.ucas.com/ to search for opportunities.
University
The UCAS website: www.ucas.com contains key information on all UK university courses, with links to individual institutions websites – so that you can continue your research. It is also the website that students use to make their university applications at the start of Year 13.
Unistats: www.unistats.com is the website used for displaying the government’s Key Information Sets (KIS). It has up-to-date statistical information on each individual course at all the UK’s universities. There is information displayed on the following categories: student satisfaction, average salary after graduation, progression, accommodation costs, time spent in lectures & seminars, how it is assessed and student satisfaction with the university’s student union. You should also find a link to Unistats from individual university websites.
The school has recently purchased Unifrog: https://www.unifrog.org/, which is a very useful website that brings together the information from a wide range of other resources that help students to search for suitable university degrees. Students can register and then use Unifrog to search for degrees taking into account location, quality of research, student satisfaction, contact hours, costs, assessment methods etc. It also has a section on apprenticeships/school leaver programmes. For log-in details, please see your form tutor, Mr Burroughs or Mrs Stobbs.
UK Course Finder: www.ukcoursefinder.com is a website where you can search for universities based on course title, location and entry grades. If you are unsure of your plans but know that you want to progress onto Higher Education you can register (free of charge) and complete a short questionnaire that will ‘suggest’ degree courses that might interest you. This process is not an exact science but it can help you to start a search or to confirm your plans.
Which University: http://university.which.co.uk/ is another website that provides key information on individual degree courses, including the average UCAS points achieved by students actually starting the course, employment prospects and drop-out rates etc. For students unsure of their plans, they can also use the A level explorer tool: http://university.which.co.uk/a-level-explorer that suggests degree courses – based on the subjects that a student is studying or plans to study at A-level.
For more information
If you would like some further information, or would like the opportunity to speak to a professionally qualified careers adviser, to discuss your future plans please contact Tammy Kirton, the school’s careers advisor via email (tkirton@hartonacademy.co.uk) or via your form tutor. You could also go to see Mr J. Murphy or complete the school’s online enquiry form (see below).
Alternatively, the school can arrange for you see a fully qualified careers adviser from Services for Young People (South Tyneside Careers Service). They also offer impartial information, advice and guidance to young people, helping them to make informed decisions around their career choices and future goals. If you would prefer to contact them directly, they have an office based at Ocean Road Community Centre where young people can book an appointment by calling (0191) 424 7400.