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.

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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!!