Tel: 028 79628377 Fax: 028 79628973
St. Colm's High School Draperstown
Careers
In St. Colm’s Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) is provided across all key stages and our pupils benefit from expert guidance to prepare them for all aspects of life and work. The Careers Education Programme and the Employability programme benefits from established links with outside agencies and carefully designed programmes to augment their learning.
Rapid changes are taking place in the labour market, driven by technological change and global economic activity. The demands of working life are changing. Our pupils leaving school, college or universities face challenges and choices that are, in many ways, very different from those faced by previous generations. The pace of change is great, and its direction sometimes unpredictable.
As a result, the Careers Department aim to develop effective career decision makers leading to increased and appropriate participation in education, training and employment. This is achieved by enabling all pupils to develop the skills to be able to make informed decisions about their education, training and employment options. In addition, pupils are provided with opportunities and experience to develop the essential employability and life skills.
Pupils are directed to allocate significant time to Careers research using the following Career related links and opportunities.
Sentinus Programmes
Year 13 Business Skills
All year 13 pupils benefit from a Year 13 Learning Skills Programme delivered by Sentinus. The purpose is to raise awareness of the importance of assessing learning skills to improve personal effectiveness.
Year 14 Interview Skills Day
This day is designed to help pupils market themselves effectively in an interview situation, whether for employment, higher education or training programmes. To make this event a success we invite a range of members of the local community to assist in the interview process which greatly enhances the programme and makes it a very valuable experience for the pupils.
Young Enterprise Programmes
Year 8 ‘Your School Your Business’ Event
All Year 8 pupils are involved in a Young Enterprise Your School Your Business event. This event helps to support pupils as they make the big leap into secondary education. This is an exciting and engaging way to introduce students to their new school. Among a number of key life skills they learn how to speak to a group, develop personal confidence, how to assess their enterprise abilities, how to analyse problems and solve them.
Year 10 ‘Project Business’
This was a highly valuable experience for our Year 10 pupils as they took on the role of a small business, sharing the real-life challenges of a volunteer from a local company. All pupils complete a series of enterprise challenges exploring the impact of their business on investors, customers, employees and society.
STEM Programmes/Events
STEM Module Bus
St Colm’s pupils continue to enjoy a series of stimulating workshops on board the mobile laboratory STEM Module. The STEM bus courses are designed to promote careers in STEM related industries by helping to develop creative and innovative approaches to learning and teaching in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.
Careers Education - Enrichment Activities
Year 10
Subject Choices
All pupils are carefully guided through this transition stage by completing a range of relevant career activities. Each pupil is provided with a detailed Subject Handbook detailing the range of subjects offered at GCSE with suitable career opportunities for each. Pupils are encouraged to discuss options with subject teachers and parents.
Year 11
Work Experience
Year 11 pupils secure work placements in a range of various local organisations across a wide range of career areas. This is completed during the first week of Year 12.
Year 12
Guidance Interviews (Link with Careers Service N.I)
The Careers Service supports the work of the Careers Department. All year 12 pupils complete a detailed careers form at the beginning of Year 12 outlining their skills, qualities and interests. These are carefully considered when setting challenging and realistic targets. The Careers Advisor conducts individual interviews with each Year 12 pupil and parents are invited to attend.
Open Days
Pupils are regularly updated with information on Open Days for all local colleges of further education.
Apprenticeships
Pupils are made aware of a range of alternative options for Higher Education including apprenticeships offered through links with local businesses.
Year 13
Work Experience
All pupils complete one week’s work experience in the world of work in which they would be interested in pursuing that particular career. This enhances the quality of the Personal Statements, increasing their likelihood of receiving UCAS offers.
Careers Insight events
A number of Year 13 pupils attended Open Morning sessions on Health Related Careers which provides valuable experience and very beneficial to add to personal statements.
Volunteer Fair
Year 13 pupils attend a local Volunteer Fair to raise awareness of the benefits of volunteering and established important links with local organisations.
Guest Speakers
The following Universities visit St Colm’s to raise awareness of the benefits of Higher Education, providing important information on entry requirements and the application process.
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University of Ulster
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QUB
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Belfast Metropolitian College
Year 14
Purple Patch
Year 14 pupils attended a Purple Patch training workshop to for writing effective Personal Statements by understanding their competencies and selling points. This workshop provides students with the tools to prepare excellent Personal Statements to give them every opportunity to gain University places.
University Open Days
All Year 14 pupils are accompanied to Queens University and the University of Ulster Jordanstown Open Days. Pupils attended 2 talks on their chosen area of interests and gained valuable insight into University Life.