Careers & Further Education
During your time in Sixth Form it is important to give consideration to what you wish to do when you leave. Many of you will want to make applications to institutions of Higher Education; others may wish to start an Apprenticeship, take a year out or enter full-time employment.
Within school, your tutors are always available to advise on further education and career choices. Verulam also has a well-stocked Careers Library and the Careers Co-ordinator is available to arrange a consultation with the Careers Adviser. An advisor from YCHerts will also be in school at various dates throughout the year.
MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES (MOOCS)
A MOOC is a free Web-based distance learning programme that is designed for students of all ages and abilities to complete independently. A MOOC may be linked to a college or university course or may be less structured and from an independent provider. Although MOOCs don’t always offer academic credits, they do provide education that may enable certification, employment or further studies. MOOC’s are open to all and often free upto the point of certification, when a fee is usually required. MOOCs can last for a few hours over several weeks to intensive courses of many hours each week for a term or longer. It’s entirely up to you which course you follow and how long you want to spend.
The benefits of taking a MOOC include, finding out if a subject is one you want to study further; extending your understanding; following a personal interest to a higher level; building your academic knowledge of a course before you start Further Education; showing your enthusiasm in your applications. Remember, MOOCs come highly recommended.
UNIFROG
All students are enrolled onto Unifrog. The online platform has now grown to encompass apprenticeships and Further Education colleges in the UK, as well as US and Canadian universities, and degrees taught in English in Europe, Asia, and Australasia. Unifrog helps students, teaching staff and careers advisers with the whole application process – from deciding on a subject area and writing application essays or teacher recommendations, to building an application and sending it. Unifrog is also a leading resource for researching the latest opportunities for Apprenticeships. A comprehensive search engine both collates and saves lines of enquiry and gives detailed information including direct links to businesses, Independent Learning Providers and institutes of Higher Education who deliver the Apprenticeship alternative. The purpose of using Unifrog is to bring all the available information into a single, impartial, user-friendly platform that helps students to make the best choices, and submit the strongest applications regardless of career route.
UCAS
For many of you this will be one of the most important acronyms you encounter at this stage of your academic life. It stands for University Clearing Application System and is the body that deals with all applications to Higher Education institutions in the UK.
During the Lower Sixth, you should commence your research (if progression into Higher Education is the route you wish to take). Use university websites and the extensive range of prospectuses housed on the library balcony to draw-up a shortlist of institutions you wish to consider making an application to.
You may then want to arrange visits to the institutions on your shortlist. To help you plan these visits, Verulam offers a number of sessions explaining how the system works and outlining key dates to consider. These happen in the first half of the summer term. You will then have the summer to consolidate your thoughts and work on your Personal Statement.
Reference information is collected from your subject teachers and written up by your Form Tutor.
Verulam uses the UCAS APPLY system, which is an online application process.
An overview of Apply, the UCAS online application system
Apply is an application system that allows you to apply online for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the UK. You will be asked to complete the following sections.
- Registration
- Personal details
- Additional information (UK applicants only)
- Choices
- Education
- Employment
- Personal statement
- Reference
- Declaration
- Pay and send
You will need to mark every section as complete before you can send your application to us. A good place to explore the application process is the UCAS Website: www.ucas.com
APPRENTICESHIPS
A growing number of students are considering the opportunity to follow the post 18 Apprenticeship route. Unifrog offers search tools to investigate the latest work-based learning available and it is updated daily.
Please use the following links to find out more:
https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/
https://amazingapprenticeships.com/
HERTFORDSHIRE LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP
Please use the following links to find out more:
Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)
https://www.hertfordshirelep.com/what-we-do/priorities/skills-employment/
Labour market information (LMI)
https://www.hertfordshirelep.com/media/7847/hertfordshire-lep-lmi-infographics-2019.pdf
YC HERTFORDSHIRE
We work closely with YC Hertfordshire (formally known as Youth Connexions), to provide 1:1 careers guidance interviews for students in Years 12 -13 with a Level 6 Qualified Careers Guidance Advisor. This support is in addition to meetings with Form Tutors and members of the Senior Leadership Team that you will have when making a career’s progression decision. It is important to realise that, in the whole of this process, nobody will tell you what to do. You will certainly receive plenty of advice and support, but what you do with it is entirely up to you.
How to get in touch with YC Hertfordshire directly:
Tel: 0300 123 7538
Email: yc@hertfordshire.gov.uk
Call your local team office: 01442 454 060 to arrange an appointment with a personal advisor to talk through your future plans. Someone from the team will respond within three working days.
