Teach Secondary - Issue 13.2

Uni? No thanks… As adults, we know that uni isn’t necessarily the ‘be-all and end-all’ of our students’ post-school plans, notes Hannah Day – but has anyone told them that? I ncreasingly, I’m seeing our smarter and more engaged students wanting to go from college directly into work. The reasons can vary, but they all face the same problem. Unlike the UCAS route, which gives you one form for over 65,000 courses, those looking at work and apprenticeships are faced with a different application process for each option they choose to pursue. As colleges, how should we therefore go about making sure we offer relevant support that can help our work-focused students navigate these varied paths? Prepare the student When talking to some ex-students who took the work route, several came back with a common observation – that they felt uni had been presented to them as the option, with little mention of anything else. I knew that we had, in fact, talked to them about the full range of options available, whichmade me wonder words such as ‘apprenticeship’ are fully understood. We may need to do better at laying out students’ possible post- school routes, but that will only be valuable if we clearly explain what each one actually means. Next, we need to prepare students more fully with the practical elements of their applications. Uni students routinely have their personal statements read and re-read until they’re precisely presented celebratory accounts. Are other students’ CVs and covering letters given the same level of focus? Youmay be able to stream students into different tutor groups depending on the routes they have selected, but this is tricky for the many who won’t have made up their minds – so ideally, you’ll need to prepare for both options. Either way, lay out a given program as best as you can, ensuring that students complete not just the basics but also receive personalised careers advice, guidance on how to search for jobs online and mock interview practice. Remember that they will additionally need help with how to present themselves and interact professionally. Explain what initial information will be most important to knowwhen they enter a newworkplace, what to do if they’re unsure when in a working environment, and the roles played by mentors and unions. What may be obvious to us will be all new to them. Prepare the parents (and ourselves) One ex-student I spoke to wished that the college had communicated with her parents and allayed her mother’s concerns: “ My grandad has been to Oxford; mum thought I wasn’t going to go anywhere if I didn’t go to uni, but now she is so happy, and can see I made the right choice. ” As teachers, we tend to be the products of a university education and can often be ‘uni snobs’ (previously guilty). However, I know now that university is only better if it’s the right choice for the student. I’ve worked hard to overcome my own biases, and will actively help parents, when needed, to do the same. One simple way is to celebrate our non-uni alumni as much as those with letters after their names. Do you know of any ex-students with notable accomplishments achieved via a vocational route? Could they be persuaded to engage with the school, and inform and inspire your next set of leavers? These steps will help us to better prepare our students. With a well-organised and relevant programme in place, we’ll be able to more fully demonstrate the value that all routes have, and encourage greater confidence in parents, whichever route their child chooses. Prepare theworkplace This area is so much bigger than our own institutions – one that calls for a mix of both attitudes and policy. As someone specialising in creative education, one reason I’ve found the ‘work route’ hard to grapple with is the frequent lack of obvious links and opportunities – which to me, makes no sense. Website designers, effective social media managers, illustrators and graphic designers continue to be in high demand, making these roles ripe for work-based training. For now, however, the only local option open to my students remains digital marketing. Despite government promises, the creative industries are still a hugely underdeveloped area within the field of apprenticeships. If you’re the teacher of an academic course, be clear as to what jobs can emerge from your area of “As teachers,we tend tobe the products ofa university educationand canoftenbe‘uni snobs’” 34 teachwire.net/secondary