Highlights of last year

Last year we had a very active and successful year with careers activities:

Autumn Term:

• Gristwood and Toms spoke to year 11 students about careers in arboriculture and apprenticeship opportunities.

• Students in Year 9 and Year 10 were given the opportunity to participate in a virtual careers conference.  The conference ran over 4 days and covered career opportunities in the aviation and aerospace industries.  The companies participating included Boeing, Airbus and British Airways.

• Students in Years 10, 11 and 12 were able to attend the Generation Hertsmere careers fair where forty local and national employers were available to talk about careers available in their sector.

• Taylor Wimpey worked with the Year 10 geography students to help them understand how the work they are doing in class applies to the construction industry.

Spring Term:

• The Fire Service spoke to students in Years 8 and 9 about careers in fire and rescue.

• Hobbs Salon spoke to year 11 students about apprenticeship opportunities.

• Sky Studio's spoke to students in Year 10 about careers available in TV, film and media industries.

• Students in Year 9 and Year 10 were given the opportunity to learn about roles in aviation and aerospace through an online package provided by the aviation industry.

Summer Term

• A representative from the civil service spoke to students in Year 9 about careers in central government.

• A select group of students from Year 9 visited Elstree Aerodrome where they learnt about the different jobs involved in the safe running of an airport and were able to gain first hand experience of flying an aircraft.

• Students in Year 10 experienced the world of work during work experience week.

• Taylor and Wimpey worked with students during summer school.

Careers Spotlight: Air Traffic Controller

Each year, around 2.5 million flights and 250 million people fly above our heads in UK skies. Our Air Traffic Controllers work with pilots to make that happen quickly, efficiently and, most importantly, safely.

The UK, like many countries, has ‘controlled’ and ‘uncontrolled’ airspace. In controlled airspace, pilots take instructions from Air Traffic Controllers on where, when and how to position their aircraft. Most commercial aircraft operate in controlled airspace.

There are different types of Controllers, with different skill sets and responsibilities based on their roles.

Aerodrome Controllers:

Typically based in a Control Tower at an airport, an Aerodrome Controller (sometimes referred to as a 'Tower Controller') is responsible for the safety and movement of aircraft around an airfield. They issue clearances to take off and land and route aircraft around the airfield so they can taxi safely between runways, stands and other areas they need to travel to.  

Area Controllers:

Typically based at Control Centres (such as those at Prestwick and Swanwick in the UK), Area Controllers manage aircraft at higher altitudes (often five thousand feet and above). They are responsible for aircraft in the climb, descent and en-route phase of the flight.   Area Controllers issue levels, headings and speeds to separate aircraft, providing a safe and expeditious routing through the sector of airspace that they manage.

Approach Controllers:

Approach Controllers are typically based at airports, but those managing the big London airports are based at Swanwick.  They manage aircraft approaching an airport putting them into the most efficient sequence to land. They also manage those that have just departed the airport in their initial phases of flight.  Approach Controllers may also manage flights transiting the airspace around the airport.

Being a successful Controller isn’t so much about your previous work experience, it’s about the way you approach problems, handle pressure and adapt to changing situations.

NATS have developed a series of mini-games to help you decide whether it’s the kind of thing that might be right for you.  They test a range of basic mental skills required by Controllers. Click on the link below to give them a go!

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 and in an ever more competitive job market it is never too soon to start thinking about shaping your CV.

Get involved in extra-curricular activities:

You might not be aware of it, but we have a large number of activities that you can take part in that will help you gain valuable experience. Some of the best activities to consider signing up for include:

• Sports clubs (shows you’re a team player).

• Other clubs such as model making club or art club (shows you want to develop your skills and are happy to put in the extra effort)

• School Council (shows that you have passion).

Above all, what these activities show is that you have initiative. Most employers are aware that young people find it difficult to get their first break and will appreciate the effort you’ve taken to gain as much work experience as you can.

Current Opportunities

We have opportunities to join Get into Into Medicine Conferences throughout this half term.  Also the Careers and Enterprise Company are starting their webinar series again, the first webinars will be on set and prop design and careers as a personal trainer

Get into Medicine Conferences

For aspiring Doctors: FREE LIVE VIRTUAL Get Into Medicine conference dates:

• Sunday 24th September

• Saturday 30th September

• Saturday 7th October

Students and parents can register for free at this link: https://medicmentor.org/get-into-medicine-ucas-conference/

All aspiring doctors in years 10-12 / S3-S5 / NI11-13 are invited to register.

These conferences offer tailored advice for medicine and dentistry, covering a range of crucial topics:

- Tactically choosing universities

- Personal statements

- UCAT

- Medical & Dental school interview skills

- Medical Leadership Programmes

- Awards Programmes

- Extracurricular activities

- Work experience

- Building a CV

- Applying for scholarships

We encourage both students and parents to participate in these invaluable sessions.

Spaces are competitive and limited, so students should register as soon as they can using the link below. For this reason, we kindly request that students only book one conference.

Registration Link: https://airtable.com/appgXnyzN5ZD9Iwk6/shry7MZYtt3MGPjvO

Here’s how the day will run:

9:30-10.00 Registration

10.00-11:00 Quick introduction to Medic Mentor, overview of the day, competition ratios, application timeline, Awards and Scholarships

11:00-11:15 Break

11.15-11.45 Introduction to the UCAS application form and entry requirements

11.45-12.15 Interactive CV building exercise and exclusive access to leadership, research, presentation, publication, prizes and scholarship opportunities

12.15-12.30 Top tips form a successful applicant (medical student)

12:30-12:45 Break

12.45-13.30 How to write the perfect personal statement

13.30-13.45 Break

13.45-14.10 Entrance exams - how to do ace the UCAT

14.10-14.30 How to prepare for Medical School interviews

14.30-15.00 Top tips form a successful applicant (medical student) and next steps

Our doctors and medical students look forward to welcoming your students at the conferences.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to drop me an email. Your students can also ring us for advice or drop our dedicated student admissions team a contact form here: https://medicmentor.org/the-medic-mentor-portal-2/

HoP Webinar Series

Our HOP Webinar series will resume on 5th October with a focus on Careers in Set and Prop Design. This is particularly relevant in Hertfordshire owing to our booming Film, TV and Creative Sector that will see more stages in the county than in Hollywood by the end of the decade.

On this webinar students can hear directly from and interact with a Prop Storeman, an Assistant Art Director and hear from a tutor from University of Hertfordshire’s creative school.

Registrations are now live on HOP and can be found here….. https://www.hopinto.co.uk/virtual-employer-encounters/

The following webinar will be on Careers as a Personal Trainer (12th Oct)