Careers: Parents

Therefore, we have created this section on our website so you as parents or guardians can be as informed as possible to support your child when it comes to making career choices.

If you require any further assistance once you have had time to digest the information on the pages below, please do not hesitate to contact
Jo Hedley via email:
j.hedley@cumbriaacademyforautism.org.uk
or by telephone on 01900 517632.

Additionally, if you feel that you could contribute to the Schools Career Programme by talking about your own career journey, would like to talk to our students about making a good application and stand out in a crowd, or feel you could give feedback on CVs and interview technique, please contact our Careers Leader – Jo Hedley.

Support your child with their career choices – a parent’s guide

It is now well established that young people are required to remain in some form of education or training until the age of 18 – but this does not mean your child must stay at school after their GCSEs.

Research confirms that adolescents and young people, place a high value on the opinions and views of their parents or guardians when it comes to making critical careers choices.

As a parent, starting conversations as early as possible about career choices and discouraging your child to make last minute decisions, are proven strategies to make sure your child is making a well-informed decision about their future.

We know, however, how difficult it can be for parents to support their child when it comes to critical career decisions. With a growing number of progression routes and weird and wonderful technical terms, it can sometimes be difficult for some parents to feel involved in the process.

Links to help pupils decide on a potential career

It is always worth exploring different routes, even when your child has decided on their chosen job or career. Some jobs might require College, others might need College first then an apprenticeship, others might require a University Degree or you might be able to do an apprenticeship straight from school. The links on this page will help you with this.

The National Careers Service

The National Careers Service was established as by the government to allow everyone to access information about careers and finding a job. It offers impartial and extensive information about a range of careers and progression routes.

By clicking on the ‘Explore Careers’ button, you can type in the job you are looking for. It will then show you the qualifications and training required for that job. It will also summarise the general duties, skills required and salary for the job you are interested in.

I would like to find out more about my child’s choices after College and year 11

There are several useful websites which can help you explore your child’s choices after year 11. These choices include:

Sixth form (where your child might the opportunity to study and/or A-levels or BTEC qualifications)
College (where your child might have the opportunity to study vocational and technical qualifications in a wide range of both practical and academic areas)
T Level Qualifications
Apprenticeships
Traineeships

My child has no idea what they would like to do in the future

It can be difficult to strike up a conversation with your child about their career ideas when they keep saying ‘’I don’t know what I want to do.’’ In this situation it can be useful to look at all options and attend as many open evenings or taster sessions as possible or arrange some work experience so that your child can experience a particular job first-hand.

Luckily, there are also some websites which might help in this situation.

University Applications

For some parents or guardians, the University process can feel scary and an unknown, even for parents or guardians who have been through the process before, it can also be an unknown as things change and develop. You child will receive support through the College throughout the application process, but in the meantime, there are a number of useful sources of information for you to access.

I would like to know how to write a personal statement

https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/how-write-ucas-undergraduate-personal-statement – UCAS – Personal Statement

UCAS have some excellent writing frames, advice and videos which should take the uncertainty and ‘scary’ side of writing your personal statement.

https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/universities/applying-to-university-and-ucas-deadlines/top-tips-for-writing-the-perfect-personal-statement – The Complete University Guide

The Complete University Guide’s Person Statement page gives some great top tips about writing a great personal statement. After visiting the UCAS page, this would be a useful page to read over.

I would like to search for open days and taster days

I would like to know how the Student Finance system works

https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/student-life/getting-student-support/undergraduate-student-finance-and-support — UCAS Student Finance

For a general overview of the Student Finance System, UCAS have some really information videos and information.

I would like to explore current labour market trends and the ‘Jobs of Tomorrow’

We now have access to what is called Labour Market Information (LMI). LMI can be national or local, but will show you trends in terms of job growth or decline in certain industries or areas of the country.

This information can be useful when discussing future careers or jobs with your child. The links below can be used to find both national and local information and can be used to find job specific data.

It can sometimes be difficult to find job specific data for Cumbria, so please read the information carefully.

I want to find out labour market information specific to a job

https://www.careerpilot.org.uk/job-sectors

On the ‘Jobs’ tab on the Careers pilot Page, you will be able to find specific job LMI by searching for the job you are interested in. Similar to the StartProfile page – this is job specific and not regional data.

I want to search for Cumbria Specific Data

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/la/1941962771/report.aspx?town=cumbria

Nomis collects employment data in each area of the country. If you would an overview of employment rates and county specific sectors, this is a useful website.

https://www.cumbriaobservatory.org.uk/economy-employment/economy-employment-further-information/

For LMI specific to Cumbria and all the regions within Cumbria, if you follow this link, then click on Current Cumbria Observatory Briefings, Summaries & Resources then Labour Market Briefing you will find information regarding the biggest employers in the area, skills employers are looking for and growth sectors in the local area.