Year 9 Get Inspired Event

This week we took 120 students to the Get Inspired Basingstoke Careers Fair. This is an annual event which brings together students and local businesses and makes a link for students between their classroom learning and the professional world. The event showed the range of career pathways available within the region. In the feedback sessions, all students said they had encountered careers and companies they did not previously know about.

Unlike traditional Career Fairs, this event prioritises practical, hands-on experiences. Students engaged with VR simulations in construction, coding challenges from tech firms, and mock clinical scenarios provided by local healthcare companies. The range of companies included bio-chemical companies, engineering and construction firms, cutting edge technology companies and public services.

Our students were fantastic and really got involved with the activities on offer. The stall holders spoke to me about the interesting and intelligent questions that had been asked over the past couple of days.

The fair highlighted three primary routes into the modern workforce which students will have already seen in Careers activities and presentations at RMS. A summary of this is below:

• Apprenticeships - Earn while you learn - Practical experience and no tuition debt.
• Higher Education - Academic specialisation - Deep theoretical knowledge.
• T-Levels - Technical qualification - A blend of classroom and industry placement.

Many of the providers run Apprenticeships which are a good alternative to the other pathways that are provided. Apprenticeships are a way of getting paid while you gain the qualifications (up to Degree Apprenticeships level and beyond) and are becoming available in more areas. You can now use an apprenticeship route to become an engineer, a doctor, a teacher or a barrister alongside some more traditional routes. Apprenticeships also provide work experience alongside the qualification which is key to many employers.

To find out more about apprenticeships, look at this link
https://amazingapprenticeships.com/apprenticeships/