Career by Numbers

The following information - Career by Number - has been drawn from the WORK supplement in Saturday's edition of 'The Guardian' newspaper over the past two months, and it can be used  as a 'fun' exercise at the beginning of each month, either in some form of quiz exercise or as a poster competition for Careers of the Month.

Are there benefits in studying abroad?

As we begin a new calender year, and with AS examinations complete, it is perhaps timely for the Year 13 student to focus on options post -18. Quite often careers teachers are asked about higher education opportunities abroad.

Apprenticeships that work

Writing in the 'Times Education Supplement' in October 2008 Joseph Lee commented that given the current recession many young people face more competition in getting onto some apprenticeship programmes than in applying to Oxford and Cambridge! With the shortage of places apprenticeships were among the hardest courses in the country to join. There is no doubt that some teenagers are heading to higher education when an apprenticeship would be a better option.

The Future of Learning

A recent editorial in the'Independent's Careers and Education section suggests that 'in Britain we have never been able to do vocational education properly'. It has always been seen as second-class and low status.  Over the past 25 years of education the notion of 'successful learning' has been narrowed to academic success. There is now this idea that having a vocational qualification somehow means you're not as worthy as the person with the academic qualification.  That has to change.

Entrepreneurs are not born, they are taught!

I read recently where this year was being set aside as Women into Enterprise Year. In one of the local papers was an invitation for women to attend a free introduction to enterprise course at the local Enterprise Centre. It's perhaps timely then to examine the progress of enterprise and entrepreneurship within our schools.When Learning for Life (Employability) became a statutory part of the Revised Curriculum, teachers were charged with bringing the twin concepts of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship to the attention of all KS3 and KS4 pupils.

Why design should be rated alongside science

Even though this particular blog site sets out to look at CEIAG provision for the 16 to 19 year olds, I  took some time out recently to read and reflect on an interesting article  in the Belfast Telegraph outlining plans for primary school children to be given careers advice as young as seven.

Studying 'DownSouth' -Educational Opportunities in the Republic of Ireland

At the recent NI Schools' Careers Association (NISCA) autumn conference in the La Mons Hotel, Belfast Ms Mairead Murphy-Byrne took a very informative and engagaing workshop on the Central Applications Office (CAO) system of application. Her objective was to give careers advice and guidance personnel within schools an insight into the application process for third level institutions in the Republic of Ireland.