Careers Information for Staff

Our mission is to enable young people to become successful STEM specialists by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, networks and personal qualities necessary to flourish in their professional and private lives. As an employee of the UTC you can therefore expect to be regularly involved with careers and employability-related activities.

At the UTC we strive to meet all nationally recognised Gatsby Career Benchmarks to enable us to provide good career guidance. In order to do this, we expect active participation towards that goal from all teaching staff. This includes requiring teaching staff to bring aspects of our careers and employability curriculum into their subject lessons.

We require all staff to know and understand both our careers programme detailed below and the UTC’s Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance Strategy.
On occasion, we may request feedback about our programme from an employee. perspective.

The UTC’s Careers and Employability Programme is developed and implemented by Jennie Peirce (Careers Lead) and our Employability and Progression Coordinator.

You will be supported in adding this to your curriculum offer. If you have any questions or would like more information on careers delivery at the UTC please email nextsteps@berkeleygreenutc.org.uk.

Below are some useful careers resources to help inform you of the UTC’s provision and resources to help you.

The UTC’s engagement with the Gatsby Benchmarks

SGS Berkeley Green UTC actively strives to meet all of the Gatsby Career Benchmarks to provide good careers guidance. The eight bench marks are:

1. A stable careers programme

2. Learning from career and labour market information

3. Addressing the needs of each pupil

4. Linking curriculum learning to careers

5. Encounters with employers and employees

6. Experiences of workplaces

7. Encounters with further and higher education

8. Personal guidance

To see more details on the Gatsby Benchmarks please visit here. To see how the UTC implements it’s careers provision please see the UTC’s Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance Strategy 959 KB pdf.

Support the UTC provides with employability

SGS Berkeley Green UTC is unique in employing a member of staff dedicated to employability and progression. The UTC implements a strong programme of activities throughout a student’s time at the UTC, that is designed to develop key employability skills and offer industry work experience that will set your child apart from the rest when looking at post 18 options.

Activities a student can expect to experience during their time at the UTC include:

Work experience in key stage 4 and 5 which the UTC will assist students in finding
Mock interviews in key stage 4 and 5 from relevant industry professionals
A programme of professional talks from industry experts
Regular employer led projects – where companies will set and judge industry relevant challenges for UTC students
Application support – including workshops for universities, apprenticeships and jobs
Industry exposure – regular opportunities to network with key employers both regionally and nationally.

To see the UTC’s full careers offer across each year group please download our programmes below.

Unifrog

One of the main tools the UTC has invested in, to assist in delivering careers education to our students, is Unifrog. Every student and staff member has an account for this online software package and it allows them to access a wealth of advice, guidance and interactive activities to help support students.
Students are taught how to use the software in their induction lessons and are encouraged to use it during their time at the UTC. Not only does it help guide students, it also gives them access to useful MOOCs to further their studies, but also allows them to record their experiences and subsequently developed skills as a future reference for employment or education applications. Staff may also find useful the subject guides within the program.
We would recommend all staff practise using the software so that they can best support their students. There are a number of teaching resources included in your staff account.

What is Labour Market Information and how can I view it?

Labour Market Information or Intelligence (LMI) is a term used for any information or factors that relate to the job market. It could be referring to the past, present or the future using forecasts. A person may also be using local, national or international LMI to inform their decisions. Some good examples of LMI are industry growth, average starting salaries, qualifications needed for a particular career and employment levels. When using accurate information, LMI can really help inform students on viable future career choices.

There are a number of sources UTC students can use to find LMI. Unifrog has fantastic job specific LMI when looking at specific job profiles. discoveruni.gov.uk is a useful resource for students considering university, students can see average graduate earnings and employment rates for a specific university and course. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has very accurate information on areas such as unemployment rates, average pay and working hours.

We have included below a useful tool for parents/carers to get some basic career focused LMI. This service is provided by LMI for All.

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How to apply for University

University and Higher Education is a popular choice at the UTC. Students choosing to study full time at a UK university will need to apply through UCAS. The UTC provides lots of support to help guide the students through the application process, from choosing universities to writing that all important personal statement. The UTC also has an external careers advisor who students are able to see on a one to one basis for impartial and thorough careers advice.
UCAS Hubs and Unifrog both offer great advice and support for our students, and staff may also get some answers to questions using these resources as well. If a student or parent/carer has any questions about applying for university please feel free to refer them to the Employability and Progression Coordinator. Please see the box below to help direct you to some additional information.

If you teach a key stage 5 student, it may be that you are asked to provide part of a reference and a predicted grade by the UTC. In this instance the UTC will have a member of staff designated as the UCAS advisor who will coordinate the reference and support you, please email nextsteps@berkeleygreenutc.org.uk to find out who the advisor is. You may find it useful to read the UCAS guide to providing a reference.

If a former students has requested a reference from you please get in touch with nextsteps@berkeleygreenutc.org.uk for advice and support.

Information on Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship is a job with training, meaning an apprentice will gain a recognised qualification at the end of their apprenticeship.
Apprenticeships are another popular route for UTC students. In 2019/20 28% of year 13 UTC students were in sustained apprenticeships after completing an education with the UTC, this is well above the 7% national average. You can start an apprenticeship if you are 16 or over, not in full time education and living in England.
There are several levels of apprenticeships available. Below is a useful table demonstrating the different levels.

	Level	Equivalent Education Level
Intermediate	2	GCSE
Advanced	3	A Level
Higher	4, 5, 6 and 7	Foundation Degree and Above
Degree	6 and 7	Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree

Staff have access to Unifrog with a lot of information on apprenticeships. The UTC has an external careers advisor who students are able to see on a one to one basis for impartial and thorough careers advice. If you have a student enquiring about apprenticeships please contact nextsteps@berkeleygreenutc.org.uk for support.

Colleges and Schools

If students wish to consider alternatives to universities or the UTC, such as colleges or schools, we would recommend contacting nextsteps@berkeleygreenutc.org.uk so that we can provide students with the appropriate support.

National Careers Service

An additional place to get careers advice is the National Careers Service, it has lots of support and guidance available for post 16 and 18 options. The service includes a careers advice line, a web chat and email facility. Please see here for more details.

How to get involved

If you think you may have contacts that may be willing to support the UTC and it’s students or you have some feedback about the UTC’s careers provision please contact us by emailing nextsteps@berkeleygreenutc.org.uk.