Careers Spotlight: Railway track worker

When you talk about jobs in the railway industry people tend to think about train drivers, but there are thousands of people working in the background to make sure the trains continue to run safely including the track maintenance crews.

Railway track maintenance crews work may include:

 Inspecting and repairing railway tracks, bridges, tunnels and viaducts

DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES

• Installing and renewing track, tunnels, embankments, cuttings, level crossings and bridges

• Checking sections of track are the correct distance apart and right height

• Inspecting tracks for defects

• Reporting and clearing potential obstacles, for example after bad weather

• Surveying sections of track to identify maintenance needs

• Reporting accidents and incidents

• Performing lookout and hand signaling duties during trackside operations

DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT

You'll use hand tools, pneumatic drills and welding equipment. For major repairs and to lay new track, you'll use heavy machinery.

You'll normally work in shifts covering days, nights and weekends, in all weather conditions. You'll be given protective clothing like reflective overalls, a hard hat and safety boots. For safety reasons, there are strict policies on drug and alcohol use and you could be tested at any time.

YOU'LL NEED

This role would be ideal for someone with practical and mechanical work, excellent team working skills, and an awareness of safe working practices on the railways.

You'll need to have good eyesight and be physically fit, as you'll have to pass a medical before you can start training for this role.

If you want to find out more about this please click on the links below

Boosting your CV

So what is a CV?  CV is short for Curriculum Vitae and is a short document which summarises your unique skills, character, experience and achievements.  

For students it can feel difficult to know what to write as you haven't had the time to build up the experience that employers always seem to want.

In this section we will look at ways of making your CV stand out for future employers so you can get that dream job.  So far we have looked at  ideas such as attending after school clubs and work experience placements.  This month we consider what many think of as the core of a CV, your academic achievements.

Make the most of your academic achievements:

Most people list their GCSE and A-level results, but very few make the effort to make their qualifications stand out. For example, if you’ve been highly commended for a particular project or assignment, why not mention it on your CV?

Although your CV should follow a set structure, you should also do what you can to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Think about the order you list your qualifications, putting the best qualifications or the ones that you want to draw attention at the top of the list is often a good idea.

The link below will help you put together your CV

Current Opportunities

This month we opportunities available in accountancy, the construction industry, hair and beauty, estate agency, healthcare and the BBC

Insights: Your Guide to Construction Careers 2022 

This event will be held between 5.30pm and 7.00pm on Wednesday, December 7th 2022. 

 This event has been designed to showcase the huge range of careers within Construction in the region. Our volunteers will be able to give you a real understanding about the environmental challenges that we face, and the solutions they are coming up with to tackle them. The volunteers, from a range of different career paths, will give an excellent insight into their work. 

This virtual event is open to all students from Years 8 and above, as well as their parents / guardians, and has been designed to allow students to:

 · Interact and connect with some of the region’s leading Construction sector employers

· Learn about pathways available to a career in the Construction sector, including apprenticeships and graduate opportunities

· Find out about different jobs and opportunities

In order to register a place, please click on the following link:

hopin.com/events/insights-your-guide-to-construction-careers-2022 

Careers Opportunities at KPMG 

Hello, 

Have you ever wondered how major business leaders make some of the most important strategic decisions? 

Does working on some of the world's most high-profile mergers and acquisitions sound exciting? Who do you think provides them with professional services and advice to be able to execute these deals?

KPMG is one of the most prestigious professional services and accounting firms in the world. They offer audit, tax, legal and advisory services to enable brands to grow, succeed and maintain their global status. Forming one of the Big 4, KPMG has some huge profile clients, such as PepsiCo, Barclays and Pfizer. KPMG operates in over 150 countries, with over 200,000 employees, with revenues in excess of £30 Billion a year. 

On Monday 5th December from 5PM - 6PM we will be hosting our first event of the year with KPMG; this virtual webinar will be held via Zoom so you can join us from anywhere in the country! This fantastic evening will give you an insight into what KMPG do and what a career at such a huge global firm can look like. They will be sharing tips on how you can succeed in your future, and we will be hearing from top professionals who will be sharing their personal insights to a Big 4 firm. 

Providing such a range of professional services all in-house, makes a lifetime career at KPMG so exciting and vibrant, full of opportunities. Future ‘you’ could be auditing or advising global brands like Rolls Royce, Unilever or even Royal Mail!

If you’re interested in a high-flying career at one of the Big 4 - you don’t want to miss this event! To find out more on how you could begin your career at KMPG…

Click here to sign up now: 

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/KPMG-Insight-Event 

CAREERS IN HAIR, BEAUTY AND MEDIA MAKE-UP - ONLINE CAREERS TALK

THURSDAY 1st DECEMBER 2022 (4:30pm) 

We have all had customer experiences with Hairdressers and barbers and almost certainly

know someone who has enjoyed some form of beauty therapy. Additionally, Hertfordshire’s

fast developing Film and TV industry requires media make-up artists.

If you have ever considered a careers in Hair, Beauty or Make-up then this webinar will help

you to gain a better understanding of the variety of roles and the entry routes into them.

Hair and Beauty courses are available at each of our four FE Colleges in Hertfordshire but

on this webinar we will be joined by teaching staff from West Herts College – all of whom

have extensive industry experience prior to joining the college. They will therefore be able to

share their own experiences with you and also talk about the courses on offer and the

natural progression routes.

Registrations are now open and can be accessed via HOP - https://www.hopinto.co.uk/explore-careers/virtual-employer-encounters/ 

ESTATE AGENT - ONLINE CAREERS TALK

THURSDAY 8th DECEMBER 2022 (4:30pm) 

Registrations are now open and can be accessed via HOP - https://www.hopinto.co.uk/explore-careers/virtual-employer-encounters/ 

Free Allied Healthcare conference 

I am delighted to announce that Allied Healthcare Mentor is launching it’s first ‘Insight into Allied Healthcare’ conference on Saturday 10th December! This is a FREE, VIRTUAL event, and your students in years 10/S3/NI11 - 13/S6/NI14 are invited!

Registration Link: airtable.com/shruUtla3mMiKorsK 

Our Chief Nurse Mentor, Abbie Dickinson, will be joined by health professionals across the NHS to share their insight into how to get into healthcare and what day-to-day life is like in their respective careers.

Abbie will be joined by:

• Carla Jayne Avery - Midwifery

• Simon Otter - Podiatry

• Tracy Wallis - Associate Head for Students University of Portsmouth

• Katherine Chambers - Physiotherapy

• Lucie Rochfort - Speech and Language Therapy

• Natalie Hicks - Occupational Therapy

• Shelley Blane - Therapeutic Radiography

• Parag Sawant - Occupational Therapy

• Kevin Harrup - Occupational Department Practitioner

We encourage you to make the most out of this rare and unique opportunity.

BBC Apprenticeships:

The BBC’s award-winning apprenticeship schemes could be your students' chance to start an exciting career across a wide range of areas in the media industry.

With opportunities across the UK, in the fields of technology and engineering, production, business, and journalism, there’s a place for them with us at the BBC.

The early careers schemes are for anyone aged 18 upwards, whether they're a school leaver, a career changer or anything in-between!

Vacancies on all schemes are open now for a September 2023 start.

If you are interested, please click on the link below