Tuesday 6 December 2011

Empolyability Article!!



Please read my Article (copy and paste link below)  that has been published in a digital magazine called "Changing Careers". Its about Improving empolyability In time where unemployment is affecting many people its really important we encourage especially the young to keep searching for employment. .


http://www.balticpublications.com/2011issues/cc08/files/10.html


Sunday 20 November 2011

Umempolyment rates are high but we need to show young people to keep on going no matter what!!



http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/nov/24/neets-number-climbs-record-high

Please read the  article above about the alarming rate if unemployment in the UK. This article is about the number of young people who are NEET(not in education or training). This number has currently risen to 1.16m young people who are now not in employment or education. This is not only affecting young people across the nation it is affecting people everywhere in the UK.

The Guardian have a very interesting feature on their business news web page "UK unemployment since 1984". Please see link http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/interactive/2009/jun/22/unemployment-and-employment-statistics-recession. Which is an interactive feature that allows you to read an article about how the unemployment rates have been dropping at the beginning of the year. If you look at the graph on this feature and click on each point you are given a actual breakdown of what has been happening from 1984 to present. This follows three different areas represented from the key above "International Labour office measure", those claiming benefits and youth unemployment.

The graph demonstrates it is clear that the 80s were a period of high unemployment. Things slowly started to improve by the early 90s and then there was a slight increase in unemployment in the mid 90s again. However by 1997 onwards when Blair came to power the number of people in employment increased again. The general flow of employment looks pretty steady until 2008 where the rate of unemployment yet again starting rising. So what has gone wrong? I am not an economist so I am not going to go through patterns of why unemployment is happening however it seems apparent that the going effects of our current recession could be a possible cause. So what now? 

One of the areas which has been badly affected is youth unemployment the number of those aged between 16 to 24 who are unemployed is over 1 million. It is very difficult to compete in a market where certain areas in our current market are not making any profit. So what do people need to do? The government will only allow individuals to seek unemployment benefit for 6 months. Finding a job is hard and I remember a young person "saying it feels like a job in itself" which to some degree it is. What needs to be assessed however is that after the 6 months what happens especially if you still haven't obtained a job.
As an adviser I was used to seeing many young unemployed people fed up of going to the job centre. Many of these young people were prepared to work anywhere but weren't always given adequate support. Once more some of them who had no or little qualifications didn't want to retrain for something new. The Apprenticeships scheme is something that excited many young people who were in this position but again the process of going through these schemes were not always popular with many young people. I did witness many  people who didn't give up though and came regularly to the centre. An example of this was a young boy who was so determined to get on a catering apprenticeship who kept on and although he didn't get the apprenticeship he did obtain a catering job. Encouragement isn't something the UK media want to portray for young people. If people in education and employment don't encourage young people to seek employment who will. Yes times are hard but people must not give up. 

There are so many fantastic opportunities out there it seems the media doesn't always focus on such things. I am not trying to sugar coat youth unemployment. Yes it is happening its true but making it more negative isn't helping other. We need to find ways to help and support this generation and so should the government. 

Please see these videos below one is about the state of youth employment today by the BBC news last year. Showing how the government has almost ignored youth unemployment rates. The other video is made by a young person who is in employment himself and has spoke to others to find out their opinions. It's quite a positive and interesting video to watch because many young people are willing to work but experience and perhaps the benefit system is maybe letting them down. .







Tuesday 15 November 2011

Skills Explorer






Please see links below this is a really good resource for young people who want to look into the jobs that they are interested in and the skills needed for those jobs. The website itself is called Skills explorer and is connected to the other well known website called Careers Box where you can see videos from professionals if you want an insight into different careers.

http://www.careersbox.co.uk/skillsexplorer/

and for the main site just type in www.careersbox.co.uk.

Please pass this on to anyone you think may find it useful  i.e young people and will also be a great tool for careers advisers and teachers.






Thursday 10 November 2011

Networking – Building connections



Networking – Building connections _(see the link here from the careers group website)

Please see link above about tips on networking. A great tool for anyone who is jobhunting at the moment. Social networking through sites like Linkdin etc and establishing professional contacts with companies are a great way to make contact with potential empolyers. In an age of who you know rather then what you know. Marketing yourself online and showing you stand out from the crowd is a great way of getting youself noticed!! Best of luck.

Tuesday 1 November 2011

Interesting website about graduate unempolyment


 http://graduatefog.co.uk/ideas/uni-careers-adviser-insists-serving-grads/

Please see link above about the lack of careers advice in university leading to graduate unemployment!! I don't agree with this of course but alot of scapegoats are being used to help explain the lack of graduate employment much like this website.  Like Dr Dan says students really need to be realistic about their career paths when they leave university. If a student really wants to find work they will have the tendency to do so and some of them may not attain their dream job in the beginning but will get somewhere if they really want it. Us careers advisers are there to guide people and untimely help them but we can't help motivate them and give them the will power to carry on trying to seek work. As this is something every individual must attain themselves.Yes remaining postive is the key but so is realism!!

Being employable is so important in this current economic climate and if youth don't have the necessary skills needed to be successful in a job i.e communication or team work skills etc what can they do? Internships are a great way of getting young people started as is volunteering. Yes neither of these routes may always lead to permanent employment but if you lack work experience as a graduate this is an excellent place to start. Being fussy about where you want to work after you graduate is fair enough but if your work experience is lacking then maybe even a job in a retail store or even McDonald's could help you build on these essential skills you need in life and work. Communication skills are one the most essential skills we need in life to do anything. This isn't something we learn as a graduate and I sometimes think graduates think that certain jobs are beneath them and then never apply. This lack of being open to the job market has lead to many people being extra picky about what jobs they actually want to do. Another issue is employers are now seeing alot of graduates in the same category having a 2:1 may help in certain professions but the number of people having degrees is still very common. So its your job as an individual to talk about projects you have been involved in maybe during summer or helping abroad etc. You always have to be one step ahead of the game. 

Bottom line is not all degrees are vocation driven i.e Geography, Maths are not unless you go into teaching perhaps. Such degrees could help an individual go into journalism, HR, Administration etc and are very open.  If you are a graduate and know where you want to go and have that essential vocational experience or other experience you need to talk about in interviews the rest should surely follow!!








Wednesday 12 October 2011

BBC news school report website.



Please see the link below for the BBC news school report website. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/school_report/student_reports/default.stm

This is a great way for getting schools and young people involved in making news reports about various things happening within their area.You can watch news reports being delivered by young people online. I stumbled upon this link when I visited the Camden for school girls website who are one the many schools involved in the project. This project may be a good way of helping young people decide if they are interested in journalism and also being involved in something positive that they can talk about durning their college or university interviews. As well as something they can add to their personal statement for UCAS. 

If you know a young person who would be interested in the project please pass the information on to them and if don't know whether their school is already involved they should ask. If they find out they are the school can register online details are given on the website. If you want to watch any of the videos they are all available online.





Thursday 15 September 2011

Are young people being deprived of careers advice?



http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/19/sad-society-young-riots

Please see Article above about how our current government isn't investing in our youth of today. As an adviser it is really refreshing to read a article which is supporting the need for careers advice. The section I have cited below describes exactly what I myself observed in my last job.

"Connexions, the service that picks up the lost and gives careers advice to all is cut to shreds: over 30% cut already, professionals replaced with cheaper staff. Just when young people most need help on what school subjects to take, on BTecs, HNDs and apprenticeships, the government is replacing careers advice with an online service, with no one to question their choices and prod them forwards." (Tonybee) 

As I have mentioned in my other posts many certain boroughs with connexions service have already been replaced by online services in order to save funds. The need for e-guidance is important especially to the generation of young people we have today. However it doesn't take away from the one to one advice we can give to a young person and sometimes the assurance we can give to them and their parents also.

I think the focus of this article is about showing how opportunities aren't as easy as used to be. Competition for places on apprenticeship schemes and university places is higher then ever. It seems there are still opportunities for young people to gain careers advice i.e Internet, workshops etc. However the closure of services like connexions and cutbacks on sessions with actual advisers in schools and colleges could still be depriving some young on having the opportunity to talk to someone impartial so maybe some young people are going to miss out. However they should still be given a choice to decide if they want to see an adviser or not shouldn't they.

Thursday 8 September 2011

Does even more higher education guarantee you a job?




http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/15/masters-postgraduate-guide - see article

The article above highlights some of the key points of going on to a Postgraduate or Masters after a degree. Question is how many people are willing to take the time and energy to look into all the fantastic postgradute courses that universities have to offer!! I say this because many postgrad and master courses are sometimes vocation driven i.e accountacy, teaching etc. With such courses the majority of students will know what the basic light at the end of the tunnel is.

When I have spoken to people about why they pursued further education after there degree the answer was always different. Some people did it for the further fincaincal gain others were motivated by doing something uniquely different to their current background and many just wanted that all important and essential work experience. I myself have done a postgrad graduate and although I enjoyed it I think I fit into the last category. Which is a debate I have discussed before in my other posts. I was lucky enough to obtain employment after my postgrad because of my work experience ironically the qualification I had achieved didn't seem that important because most of the people I had worked with had worked through a more vocational route. This made me think umm I have spend quite alot on that course was it really worth it. For me the answer is still yes because I learned alot about myself and helped me grown professionally. However if you find out after all your hard work there are easier routes that doesn't seem fair does it!!

Also when you talk to alot of young people the idea of even more study after the degree sometimes seems daunting to them. The costs of these courses have put some people off along with the additional years of study. If some people get a job straight after their degree and are able to have a regular wage they are happy with this and feel the idea of going back to university will be a waste of their time. Part-time courses have made things so much more flexible for parents who study and the increase of popular courses like MBAs seemed to be raising at one point.

A Masters, Postgrad or PhD all have merits and are all credible qualification but sometimes it seems like value has been eroded. I say this because, yes people are still opting to do such courses but at the end of the day people are looking for ways to enter the workforce. The experience you obtain from such higher courses can be essential and sometimes unique to employers but how many students are not willing to invest extra time into this. Alot of people I spoke to previously are put off by the cost of these courses. Yes they are expensive and with graduate loans looming over people's heads doing a further course just seems like the last thing on someones mind. There are bursaries for postgraduate courses but the key to knowing about this is important and if you don't know you lose out right.

So does even more higher education guarantee you job? Yes it probably will to do some extent but it must be remembered this isn't a route for everyone as discussed above. Also even if you have further qualifications it doesn't guarantee you are more employable either. You need to have the right skills to do a job and that isn't always something you can learn from a academic qualification, that is something you learn through life. experience :)!!






















Film studies degree info!!


 http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jul/08/film-studies-degree

Please see article above this is a really good source of information for anyone who is interested in the film industry. It breaks down further study after your degree postgrad etc if you want to it!! As well as useful stats at the bottom. If you know anyone interested in this sector please pass it on!!

Thursday 25 August 2011

Gcse Results!!



Today is Gcse results day and it feels odd not being in a school trying to comfort a student with a box full of tissues because they didn't do as well as wanted to do. Or congratulating a pupil on their immense success. The truth is many of these young people still need to see someone even after they get their results. The thing I am wondering this morning is how many of these young people who haven't got what they wanted actual have a careers adviser to talk to this morning.   

Certain boroughs don't even have connexions centres anymore whats happening to these young people. I remember helping a young girl last year whose parents were told her school didn't even support her coming back to the school and so I needed to give her information about all the local colleges that she could apply to. If she hadn't come to see me she properly would of been claiming JS9 like so many other young people who aren't given proper guidance and support in their schools. Yes it is the responsibility of the young person but if schools don't support them what happens then. It seems in a time when careers advisers are short in numbers parents need to have some more knowledge about the options available to young people today. If schools don't provide this what happens then. 

I am sure all the connexions centres that are still open today will be immensely busy today and tomorrow with the added pressure of finding places. With the further knowledge that some courses in colleges have been completely scraped due to funding. Whatever the results today I hope young people have chosen the right courses for them and their future and seek advice about university this year if they want to go rather then next year. If they don't plan the road to university now they will potentially face more problems next year. The fees increase is not only going to deter people financially but young people will be competing with each other like life choice lottery.

















Thursday 28 July 2011

Could Work Based learning happen at university!!

Please see link below 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/jul/25/white-paper-universities-training-jobs 

This article fits in with my previous post about work experience whilst learning!! The white paper the government's higher education document is realising how important employability is for young graduates. Many countries in Europe including Germany and Sweden as I mentioned in my previous post put a greater emphasis on the need for vocational learning.  

As someone who did one of their careers placements at UEL (docklands) I was able to observe the advantages of empolyability training. UEL encouraged their graduates and fellow students to seek employment in positive ways. Universities should provide empolyability training but the question is why are some universities still thinking such training is a little beneath them. 

It is clear that academics who teach at more prestigious universities may not be so willing to teach about actual work experience. If this should be case then shouldn't the government bring in people who are willing to do this. Also some universities are known for being more employable then others is that really fair? The empolyability rates for universities after 6 months from the guardian league tables indicate that some of the universities with high empolyability rates include Cambridge, oxford, Imperial UCL etc. The lower ranking universities were among London Met, Bolton and University of east London. 

Having traning programmes for graduates that coming from universities who have lower empolyability rates could prove useful. This may be a some food for thought and as this article indicates its only an idea at the moment so things may not change only time will tell.





Thursday 14 July 2011

Work Experience is for Life not just for a week!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jul/10/labour-schools-work-michael-gove

Please read this article above about what labour says about vocational education. I found this article quite interesting and think it links quite well to my previous post because many young people are unsure about what all their options are. 

One of the main problems that seems to a recurring theme with previous graduates or young people who have gone onto do Alevels is a lack of work experience. This article is saying there is more of a need to educate and train young people with the necessary work skills needed in the work force. This is essentially true and alot of people who graduate sometimes have little or no work experience at all. So what can be done about this? Yes vocational options are a great idea but what about people who still want to have a degree. Many people suggest internships and getting work experience during the summer but sometimes this can be just as challenging as finding a proper job!! So wouldn't it make sense to actually incorporate work based training for young work maybe whilst they are still at school. 

Apprenticeships are a great way for young people to learn about a specific trade and learn valuable work skills at the same time. When I spoke to young people about them reactions about it were often negative especially if the word vocational was used. Many bright students would look upon btecs and apprenticeships as something which was designed for non-intelligent people.One young person said to once 'Miss only thick people do those courses'. Indicating that young people in general didn't want to be associated with a course that makes them seem less intelligent. This is why its so important to educate them about necessary life and work skills. 

I did a group work in a secondary school with some SEN students about work experience. It was a interactive discussion about skills we use in every day life that are necessary in the workforce. For example communication, listening, team work etc. This discussion helped them to see why particular skills we learn in life can be built through education and developed in the workforce. One student who had worked in a shop gave an example of communication skills by saying if you don't communicate well with customers they will not want to return to that establishment etc. This particular group stays in my mind because it made me realise that young have alot of the answers in their heads but need to be driven  in the right direction. Also it made them realise that into order to gain a job its not just how well you do in your gcses or Alevels. Its also how much you put into the necessary life skills. I.e engaging in other activities such as sports, volunteering etc to help develop those skills if necessary.

Please see quote below about the Swedish education system. 

'Post-secondary studies include advanced vocational training (Kvalificerad yrkesutbilding) which is intended to meet the labour market's needs for the skills required for modern production of goods and services. About one-third of the course period takes place at the workplace. As from January 2002, this form of training is a permanent part of the Swedish educational system but does not belong to the higher education sector. Admission is based on three-year upper secondary education or corresponding proficiency. The training is normally intended to correspond to two years of study and leads to a Certificate of Advanced Vocational Training (Kvalificerad yrkesexamen).'

Just to summarise in Sweden they actually incorporate work related training for everyone you could say this is exactly like our work experience here. However this system is alot longer hence the two years!! Work experience here is usually 2 weeks if at best and sometimes some young people struggle to even get a placement for that!! I have not criticising the system here and know that Sweden is prominently a rich country but having something like this in our education system would benefit so many young people and help them with those essential skills needed in the workforce.










































Tuesday 12 July 2011

Why University?

When I was working as an adviser the question I challenged some young people about was Why do you want to go to university? Many young people in Year 13 who were eagerly waiting to hear back from Ucas who hadn't heard back from any universities or were not given offers almost seemed to feel as though this was the end of the world for them. Alot of these students seemed to be following a trend of applying because their friends had and were not aware of the other possibly choices that were available to them. In fact many students wanted to apply to universities which were not suitable for their potential grades and couldn't quite understand why they couldn't get in.

I also observed that alot of year 12 A level students were not sure if they actually wanted to do a degree and if in fact university life would be something they wanted to pursue. I had a young girl who came to see me and she had a few different career ideas in her mind but wasn't sure of the type or kind of degree necessary for her to take. Sitting down with her and explaining that certain degrees like psychology, English etc could set up a wide range of careers for her helped her to think a bit more clearly. However if these young people aren't able to access this kind of help and advice how will they make such decisions.

Then in contrast to that I met a young girl who was doing Alevels but wanted to pursue an Apprenticeship after she completes her Alevels. She has looked into the university way of life and wanted to do something more practical where she had the potential to earn some money. The reason why I give these brief examples is to show how different each client who came to see me was. They had different needs and wants. The need for going to university seems to be have lessened in the past few years.With so many people who have degrees but still find it difficult to actually obtain employment. Many have criticised David Cameron for allowing a rise in fees to divide a line between middle class going to university and those who from poorer families not being able to go.

This may seem like the case to many but what I have observed is many young people ended up or are still going to universities without all the options being explained to them. I am not saying this for everyone but many of the young people I spoke said they were unsure if they even wanted to go to university and alot of them were worried about how they would cope financially and also for many of them a fear of being far from family was not something they thought they would be able to manage. I think this is where we as careers advisers need to come in and help educate young people. It shouldn't be the case of if you go to university only then will you be successful. There were many people I know of who did a certain degree and struggled to find a job related to it or ended up doing something totally different. I am not saying that a degree is useless but for many it seemed to be more like a trend they followed then a necessity.

Vocational qualifications are still being frowned upon and it seems that many young people I spoke to didn't want to disappoint their family by doing a apprenticeship or btec. Even though they didn't have necessary entry requirements to do Alevels etc. 'I want to go university because its the best way for me to earn lots of money ' a ypung person said to me once. I challenged them about this because they were not a sutiable candaiate for Alevels. This was difficult but what I want to put across in this post is that those young people who want to go university in the next few years will need to think more carefully about whether it really is the best decision for them. Fees for degree courses have escalted to up to 7000+. Maybe a line of elite vs non elite will be established who knows.A young person has a right to know to what their other options are and that is why more then ever organisations like 'Not going to Uni' etc are essential for young people to know about. To end on a note of saying the number of careers advisers being cut will effect this because if advisers aren't around how will a young person really know what all of their options are.

Monday 6 June 2011

Careers advice does matter!!


Ok I already have my own personal blog but I decided I should start create a careers advice based blog as well.  I won't be giving careers advice directly to anyone via this blog but I want to talk about issues surrounding careers advice and guidance and why it can help others. I also want to know what people want to know about will do my best to research into certain areas as best as possible. In a time where youth employment is at its lowest and people are being redundant especially in the public sector I think careers advice and guidance about how to look for a job or change career is more crucial then ever!!   

I would like to find out what young people think of connexions a service that is catered towards young people aged between 13-19. This service has already been cut completely in several areas and people are still in danger of losing your jobs within this area of work. See article below from the guardian website about how cuts are making many high schools in the UK very angry. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/mar/13/warning-on-cuts-to-careers-advice-to-teenagers

Also From April 2012 the government are hoping to replace this with an all age service that caters towards everyone. We currently have a next step service available for anyone over 19 this new service will also replace this too. See link below for further information. 
http://www.icg-uk.org/National_Careers_Service.html                   


I want to know what people's views and general experiences have been with careers advisers or if you work as a careers adviser what you think about what's currently happening etc. As well as your experiences and the changes you have seen as and adviser and the impact or lack of impact its had on people. Also I want to see people's general awareness about the services that are available to them. For example many universities have your own careers service run by the institution themselves but many students don't know about it or are maybe too intimated to approach the service for whatever reason. I knew where my careers library was at my university but somehow felt too shy to approach them. Maybe that's just me but I don't think I am the only one. Because if I am being honest when I look back now I don't actually think I realised all the services that were on offer so was unsure about how they could help me really. 

I think careers advice does matter. I am not just saying this as a trained adviser although maybe that gives me a different angle on things. However many people are looking for work and just want some advice about how to this so logically isn't that where a careers adviser should step up and help.I recently went to a careers CV workshop which was really useful. The workshop really centered on motivating people who are not in work to go out and look for jobs in a positive way. I think encouraging people and giving them confidence to do something is really important. One of the things I observed when I was working as a  careers adviser for connexions is that alot of people had great amounts of ambition and wanted to go forward with their lives. However maybe due to setbacks or lack of encouragement they were not empowered to follow their ambitions. I am not saying everyone can become a popstar or movie star if that's their aspiration as you need to be realistic. However many indivduals sometimes just didn't have enough self belief in themselves and a popular saying amongst many clients was 'That sounds like hard work'. In fact not realising that hard work is something that they are going to have to do if they want a to fulfill their aspirations.

Also many people think I don't need careers advice especially if they know what they want to do!! I used to get this from many year 11 students who wanted to become a Lawyer or Doctor they were very set on their future career. Which bothered me sometimes as it did seem that some of these young people were talking through the influence of their parents aspirations and not necessarily themselves. When I trained as an adviser we where taught that its clients needs that are most important and we as advisers need to explore various avenues with them. Not just the one that seems like the safe option or the choice that their family wanted them to make. Not all students are academic and some may be more practical so what options are available to them? Also what about clients with special needs and those clients who don't get 5A*-C's at gcse level what happens to them. Without some sort of advice or guidance from someone namely a careers adviser how can they know what route to follow. Which is why I think Careers advice matters.

I will end on that note but I want to hear from people about topics to discuss and any comments they want to make!! So please email me at sgcareers27@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading :)!!!