Careers News: BT Applications now open!

The 2009 BT Apprenticeship Scheme is now open until 19th January! Read the following message for tips on how to apply successfully (and make sure to read it all before you proceed).

Click on www.bt.com/apprentice to apply.

BT expect a huge number of people to apply in the first week so warn applicants that they might experience difficulties getting onto the system at first. If this happens try again the following day.

Top Tips
First off, watch the film in this Cmail and also in the video lounge of bt4me. These will give applicants a better understanding of which apprenticeship suits them so they know which one to apply for. When they apply, applicants will need to check that they fill in all the fields correctly. If they fail to do this their application will not be taken further. Applicants will also need to make sure they answer all four questions on the application form with full answers and check their spellings because the answers they give here are what BT will base their second stage sift on.

Start to get documents ready: anyone lucky enough to be invited to one of the BT Hub Days in March and April will need to bring their passport and exam certificates with them. If they do not have these, make sure they know to apply for them now so they are ready for the Hubs. If they follow all of these tips they''ll be ready to apply here!

Construction Industry - Resources in the Careers Library

Following a review of resources in the careers library, please find below a list of all information regarding the Construction Industry. Furthermore, there is a display for you to look at currently in the careers library. If you would like access to any of these resources, just come and ask...

Working in Construction & the built environment
(Connexions booklet 2007)

Covers various jobs from Trainee Architect through Joiner to Apprentice Leakage Field Technician.
Each job focuses on a person in that role and explains the route they took to get there.
Briefly describes what they do.
Gives related jobs & a guide to salary.
Easy to follow lay-out with clear information for each job described. Published in 2007 so, the salary information is fairly up to date. Lots of website addresses for self research.


Real Life Guides: Plumbing
Real Life Guide: Construction
(Books)

· Background information about plumbing, training, tools of the trade & possible problem areas.
· Case studies of 3 people – how they qualified.
· Chapter on training, pay, holidays & working abroad.
· Useful websites.

Does what it says on the cover and is broken down into chapters that follow on logically. Interesting ‘did you know’ facts dotted through the book. “The Last Word” should only be used loosely – don’t change your mind as a result of the tick list.


At the moment, we also have some leaflets and CD ROMS available by:

CR ROMS:
www.careersinquarrying.co.uk
www.vinci.plc.uk/careers
RICS prospectus of surveying education
The Royal Academy of Engineering www.raengbest.org.uk

Leaflets:
British Plumbing Employers Council http://www.bpec.org.uk
Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors
JTL www.jtlimited.co.uk (Gujerati and Bengali versions)
JTLWomen in Electrotechnical Industry www.jtlimited.co.uk
JTL Electricians www.jtlimited.co.uk
JTL Plumbing and Mechanical Engineering Services www.jtlimited.co.uk
JTL Women in Plumbing and Mechanical Engineering Services www.jtlimited.co.uk
JTL Socket, The JTL Electrical Apprenticeship Magazine
JTL Your Application for a Secure Future in the Building Engineering Service Industry (Electrician, Plumber, Heating and Ventilating Fitter, Gas Fitter) www.jtlimited.co.uk
Why Not Suggest Quarrying? www.careersinquarrying.co.uk
The Independent Educational Publishing – The Guide: Built Environment
RICS A Career in Surveying www.rics.org/courses

10,000 Apprenticeship Places to be created, including many in the Construction Industry

At least 10,000 apprenticeships will be created in spite of the contraction in the economy, as the bill which launches the National Apprenticeship Service was announced last week by John Denham and Ed Balls. New Government commitments are expected to see upwards of 7,000 new apprenticeships in construction, while high street giants released plans for large-scale increases in the numbers of apprenticeships they offer.

Sainsbury's, Tesco, Superdrug and Phones4u have committed to expand massively their numbers of apprenticeships, to ensure they have the right skills to stay ahead of the competition. Sainsbury's has recently quadrupled the number of apprenticeships across its stores to 465, Tesco will have a further 800, Superdrug plan a further 1,000 while Phones 4u intends to train at least 1,000 apprenticeships by next April.

Skills Secretary John Denham said: "This shows that we are well on the way to making apprenticeships a mainstream option for young people who want to get on. We anticipate that one infive of all young people will be undertaking an apprenticeship by the end of the next decade. "in 1996-97, just 65,000 people started an apprenticeship. that figure nearly trebled to 184,000 in 2006-07. But we need to go a lot further , which is why we are investing £1 billion by 2010/11.

"It's great that private sector employers are making such a commitment to, and an investment in, their workforce. We need to do the same in the public sector and must ensure that every pound invested by taxpayers not only helps deliver new infrastructure projects but will help provide the skilled workers needed in the future, and enable more people to build a strong career. Apprenticeships are an excellent way to do this."

Source: Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, 8/12/08.

More Apprenticeship news from BT

Following on from the Blog entry on 25th November, BT have now announced their application dates for Apprenticeships in the Cambridgeshire area. Job opportunities include training in both I.T. and Customer Services (see last entry for short films on both of these sectors).

If you would like to apply, please click on the following link for applications...LINK, and the best of luck.

Equal Opportunities Publication

Please note that we have now received a copy of "Equality Britain" in the Careers Library. This is described as a Directory of Opportunity for 2009 and provides information for the whole of the UK, looking at a range of issues, including:

1. employment


2. education


3. housing


4. adoption and fostering


5. sport

If you would like to take a look, just come down and ask to see it. Alternatively, if you would like to look at their website, click on this LINK.

GAP Year Opportunities for Year 13 students

Many students decide that they do not want to go straight on to University or work on completion of the A levels (or equivalent). A gap year is often the way forward for those who are making up their mind about the future and the more productively that year is spent, the more appealing students will be to future organisations they want to work with.

The Year in Industry Engineering Development Trust is recognised across the UK as one of the countries leading organisations for helping young people to find worthwhile Gap Year Placements. It's been doing it for over 20 years(!) and they have been in touch with Long Road College to let us know about a number of exciting opportunities they now have with employers such as Shell, Rolls Royce and QinetiQ to name a few. These places will be in high demand, so the earlier you apply the better. The link below gives you more information, but in the first instance, here are some of the criteria you must match up to:

• You must be a Year 13 / Final year A level (or equivalent) student
  • Highly individual, proactive students with a thirst for knowledge and an appetite for
  discovery.
  • With very good grades at AS level or equivalent and high predicted grades at A2 level
  or equivalent

For more information, click on the following LINK and best of luck.

Exciting Opportunities with BT

We have just been informed about some exciting weblinks for anyone interested in work in Customer Services, or IT in the future, with one of the countries leading companies: BT.

If you would like to secure an Apprenticeship with BT in either of these job areas, then click on the links below. You will also see that we have included a short film that gives an overview (including tips) on how to successfully complete their recruitment process. Good luck...

If you are interested in Customer Services Apprenticeships, click here

If you are interested in IT Apprenticeships, click here

To find out more about the recruitment process, click here.

The application period doesn't actually open until mid-December but until then anyone interested should visit the bt4me website where they can see plenty of relevent BT apprenticeship films and sign up to Club BT. As a Club BT member you will receive updates and information about this year’s apprenticeship campaign straight to your inbox before anyone else.

Review of Library Resources - Administration, Business and Office work

Some of you may not know that the Careers Library is broken down into a range of different sections, each dealing with it's own specialism. One of the largest sections relates to Careers Information broken down into job families. Administration, Business and Office Work is an example of one of these families and we have reviewed some of the materials it contains. Below is a breakdown - have a read and you may see something that appeals to you...

Materials Review

"Working in the Civil Service" (Connexions booklet 2005)
Covers various jobs from Messenger through Court Usher to Occupational Psychologist
Each job focuses on a person in that role and explains the route they took to get there
Briefly describes what they do
Gives related jobs & a guide to salary

"Working in Management" (Connexions booklet 2005)
Covers different management roles from Managing Director through Project Manager to Heating and Plumbing Manager
Each job focuses on a person in that role and explains the route they took to get there
Briefly describes what they do
Gives related jobs & a guide to salary

"Working in Local Government" (Connexions booklet 2004)
Covers various jobs from Economic Development Office through Cleaner to Social Worker
Each job focuses on a person in that role and explains the route they took to get there
Briefly describes what they do
Gives related jobs & a guide to salary

"Getting Into Business and Management Courses" (Trotman – Revised Sixth Edition)
Aims to help you choose the right course for you. It offers advice and information on the personal and academic qualities needed to get onto the course of your choice. Topics covered include:
Qualifications and training required
Choosing your Business and Management Course
Completing your UCAS application
Work Experience
Interview tips and sample questions
Career options for the business graduate
Current issues

"Business, Management and Economics" (CRAC Degree Course Guides 2005/2006)
This guide will help you decide which course you want to follow up in more detail. The areas of interest cover:
· A degree in business or management or economics
· The courses
· The style and content of the course
· Assessment methods
· Entrance requirements
· Routes to professional qualification

There is also a file dedicated to information on careers in Administration, Business and Office Work. The following information is available in the file:

Administrative Assistant, Officer, Manager
Bilingual PA
Business Analyst
Civil Service Administrative Assistant Officer
Civil Service Executive Officer
Civil Service Management Trainee
Company Director
Company Secretary
Equal Opportunities Officer
Ergonomist
Estimator
EU Official
Farm Secretary
Health and Safety Advisor
Health and Safety Inspector
Human Resources Officer/Manager
Legal Secretary
Local Government Best Value Manager
Local Government Committee Administrator
Local Government Community Development Officer
Local Government Community Safety Officer
Local Government Customer Service Officer
Local Government Elections Officer/Manager
Local Government Environmental Health Officer/Manager
Local Government Estates Officer
Local Government External Funding Officer
Local Government Markets Officer
Local Government Regeneration Officer
Local Government Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages
Local Government Rehabilitation Worker
Local Government Revenues Officer
Local Government Trading Standards Officer
Management Consultant
Manager
Medical Receptionist
Medical Secretary
Messenger
Payroll Clerk, Supervisor, Manager
Personal Assistant
Project Manager
Quality Manager
Receptionist
Recruitment, Employment Agency Consultant
Secretary
Supervisor, Team Leader
Switchboard Operator
Word Processor, Typist

Science and Maths related films

The link below will take you through to a great new webpage, highlighting jobs related to Science and Maths, with short case studies to help you understand details about these jobs. Good luck.

Click here

Opportunities Trust

Click on the link below for a news article about the newly formed "Opportunities Trust." This organisation has been set up to help Adults with Disabilities and Mental Health problems, and may be of interest to Health and Social Care students.

Click here

Health & Social Care films

Health and Social Care students are soon to begin work experience. To support their experience of jobs outside college, we have put a few more links below to films of young people who are now working in the sector. Perhaps it will help with your ideas for the future?

1. Care Worker with Cambridge County Council, click here
2. Childcare with Herts County Council, click here
3. Working as a Key Worker on a training programme for people with Special Needs: click here to find out about the e2e training programme

Careers Films - Science/Engineering, Health and Social Care

For those of you with Science/Engineering, or Health and Social Care interests, try clicking onto the following links for short films within these sectors:

Midwifery student, click here.
Student Nurse, click here.
Adult Nursing, click here.
Childcare, click here.

Manufacture/Engineering Mechanical Apprentice, click here.
Telecoms Apprentice Fibre planner, click here.
Design and Draughting Apprentice, click here.

World Radiography Day, 2008!

Please note that November 6th 2008 is World Radiography Day and we have special guests in college to promote this area of work. We have been told that there is a large demand for people interested in this line of work, and this is your chance to find out if it could be something you would like to do in the future.

Based near the First Aid Room off the Reception area, from 9.30 to the end of the day, we will have Andrew Styling of Addenbrookes Hospital and 4 of his colleagues (including Radiography students), all promoting this line of work and freely available to answer all of your questions.

Sieze this rare opportunity to find out more about a job that is a little bit special.

Science, Engineering and Technology Careers

For all you budding scientists, technologists, or engineers, one critisism often cited about future careers is that you don't know what jobs are out there! Well, to support the weekly job suggestions in the student bulletin, you may want to link to the website below. It really is a mine full of information.

Click link... http://www.scenta.co.uk/careers.cfm

This link will take you to the careers section of the scenta website, where there are many useful pages of information, covering topics such as Apprenticeships, Graduate study, what subjects to study, job profiles, even job searching. It's easy to use and a great place to fill in any gaps in your knowledge.

Interested in Engineering?

For those students interested in Engineering at University, check out the following article taken from the Cambridge Network - News link on the right hand side of the frontpage today.

http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/article/default.aspx?objid=52578

It's a great example of how engineering projects can become really exciting when studying at University.

What is the third sector?

For those of you who haven't heard of the term "The Third Sector," it relates to work in Charities. Now charity work may not be everyones cup of tea, or it may simply be an area you haven't given any consideration to, however, it can be very rewarding way to earn your living whilst feeling good about putting something back into society.

Click here to watch a short film giving advice about charity work. Furthermore, if you use the search engine available on the linked site, you should be able to find links to specific Charities and short films about working in these organisations.

What can you do to improve your CV?

For those of you who are interested in extra-curricular activities, consider the advert below. It would certainly go a long way to improve your CV if you got involved...

28th Cambridge Scout Group

Enthusiastic volunteers needed to help exisiting leaders of local Beaver, Cub and Scout Sections.
This is an ideal opportunity for those working towards their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme or thinking of career in education or working with young people.
Our Meetings are held a the Scout HQ on Flamsteed Road, off Cherry Hinton Road and run from 5pm to 9.30 on Tuesdays Term time only.

Interested? Please contact me on 01223 510357 or via email.

Yours in scouting,

Denise Owen
BSL 28th Cambridge Scout Group

Ever thought about setting up your own business?

Click the following link for an interesting article on experiences of small business entrepreneurs...

Setting up a Business?

The Future of Apprenticeships

It is difficult to know which way future Governments will turn in relation to the direction of education and the world of work, but it perhaps comforting to know that the Conservative Party wish to remain committed to Apprenticeships, shoult they take control. Click here for a recent article regarding their plans for Apprenticeships.

Films update - Business

Of course, those of you who have had the forsight to take a Business/Business Studies course will no doubt know that one of the advantages of this course is that it allows you a lot of scope for your career development in the future. There are so many different directions it can take you in the world of work.

Click on the following links to watch some short films from the Business World...

Laura, Apprenticeship in Business Administration, in St Neots: http://www.careersbox.co.uk/films/sealedair/

Richard and Jo, Apprenticeship in Business Administration with Stevenage Borough Council:
http://www.careersbox.co.uk/films/stevenagebc/

Information leaflets - just come and take one!

For those of you who haven't been in to the Careers Department lately, please note that there is a new Leaflet Stand by the entrance. Anyone can take a leaflet(s) and if that spurs you on to greater interest, you can discuss this with either the Department staff, or arrange an interview with our Connexions Personal Advisers.

We have the following leaflets available:

Job Applications
Coping with interviews
Taking a year out
What next? Options after advanced qualifications
Opportunities with one A level
Employment at 18+ with advanced level qualifications
Choosing your higher education
Ideas for higher education courses
Higher education - how to apply
Higher education in Europe
Finance for students
Sponsorship, scholarships and charitable trusts

How to find out information about Financial Services

For those of you who found the films about Accounting interesting, try linking to the web address below. This will take you to the Financial Services Skills Council site where you can find lots of information about the industry, qualifications and training etc.

Go on, you know you want to...
Click here... Financial Services Skills Council

The New Diplomas

Click on the following link to watch a selection of short films regarding the new "Diploma".

You can see a trailer about the qualification, watch an overview of the Diploma following a day in the life of a group of friends exploring what it's all about.

There is a third short film about a group of young people quizzing education leaders about Diploma facts, and finally, film four shows what high profile business leaders think of the qualification.

Click here... http://yp.direct.gov.uk/diplomas/

If you want to see information about particular Diplomas, access films from the bottom of the page on the web link above too.

Job information and short films

Every fortnight I will be putting a number of weblinks here in my blog. Just click on each link to access a short film about a different job. Hear what young people have to say about their experiences and pick up some useful tips.

This could be just what you need to develop new ideas, or confirm that your existing ideas are the right way forward.

If you want further information, come on down to the Careers Department on C Corridor and we will see if we can help you.

This weeks topic is "Accountancy" and jobs linked to it. A job area that is NOT just for graduates...

Student Promotions Adviser. Click below...
http://www.careersbox.co.uk/video/acca_tri_gar.wvx
Accounting Technician. Click below...
http://www.careersbox.co.uk/video/acca_chi_pal.wvx
Group Financial Accountant. Click below...
http://www.careersbox.co.uk/video/acca_sar_amo.wvx
Product Controller, Senior Specialist. Click below...
http://www.careersbox.co.uk/video/acca_geo_will.wvx