Career Plan

Within this section you will find out more about the kind of career you are interested in and find out how you can make it become a reality. There are three steps that you need to take in order to successfully career plan.

1. All About You

It seems odd, of course you know all about you, don’t you? Well you need to take time to really think about what you like and dislike. What are your interests? Try to answer the questions below and they will help you to understand more about you.

What are your interests?

• What do you enjoy doing at school or in your spare time? Examples could include socialising with friends, writing, art, playing games on your computer etc.

What skills do you have?

• What are you good at in school or outside of school? Examples could include Maths, researching for a project, creative work such as Art, communicating your point of view, writing stories etc.

What personal qualities do you have?

• What type of person are you? Examples could include meeting deadlines, planning ahead, listening to others, caring for others etc.

What is your preferred learning style?

Different options will give you different ways of learning, for example some courses will be classroom based and others will be practical based.

• Classroom Learning and Exams - if you prefer this way of learning then A Levels within a sixth form or college will suit you. There is more information on this under the Education Tab.
• Hands on Project Work - if you prefer a more vocational approach then BTEC’s at sixth form or college may be a good option for you. Again you will find information on this under the Education Tab.
• Learn and Earn - if you want to learn new skills, while gaining new work based qualifications then Apprenticeship or work with training may be the best option for you. You will find more information under Apprenticeships Tab and the Getting a Job tab.
• Your English and Maths skills are below standard - the 16-19 study programme will give you the chance to obtain qualifications while you work towards level 2 English and Maths. You may also be able to get some work experience to help you with your employability skills.

2. Career Ideas

The world of work is every changing and therefore in order for you to plan your future and career you will need to find out more about the kind of jobs that are available out there now, and those that will be more popular in the future or may be competitive.

The following websites are a great help in this area, and they even have videos and case studies that you can look through on different careers, and should give you a better idea of what you want for your own future.

• www.icould.com
• www.careersbox.co.uk
• National Careers Service Job Profiles
• UCAS Progress

Also our tab World of Work also contains information that will help you with different areas of work and job trends within the West Midlands.

Make a list of the careers you feel the most drawn to, listing why you feel they would be good for you to pursue, and what you need to meet the career requirements. Are you already on your way? Or is there a lot more needed? Are they realistic options? For example if you want to be a doctor, but did not pass science, then this is an unlikely option for your career choice, what alternative is available?

3. Your Plan

You have learned more about your interests, skills and qualities. You have also worked out your preferred learning style. You then made a list of the careers you are most interested in and why, identifying the realistic nature of your choice and what is involved in these choices. You’re almost there.

Now you need to conduct research into the best route into your chosen career(s). From your list of careers, you need to answer the following questions about each to really help you pinpoint what you are going to do.

Can I start straight from school?

This will depend on what your predicted for your GCSE results. Most jobs want some basic qualifications such as Maths and English at grade C. Also due to RPA you will still need to do some type of training or accredited learning until you are 18.

Does my chosen career start with Apprenticeship?

For some this is one of the main ways of starting a career, however in order to begin the Apprenticeship you may need to have certain qualifications first. What are these? Do you have them? Can you work towards them before applying for the apprenticeship? The Apprenticeships tab will help with this.

Do I need certain qualifications?

You may need to obtain A Levels, or Level 3 Vocational qualifications before you can embark on your chosen career. You may even need to go onto university. The Education tab will help with this.

Are my employability skills good enough for an employer?

Maybe you don’t feel ready for school/college/training or work. Then the 16-19 study programme will be the best option for you, you will be able to obtain substantial qualifications while you also work towards your level 2 in Maths and English if not achieved.

Even with all this planning it is still a good idea to ensure you have a back up plan. What other choices are there for you if things don’t go exactly as you planned? If you are aiming to complete a very popular course or go into a career that is popular, it is very important to know what alternatives are out there for you. You may not get the grades you need, there may be no places left on the Apprenticeship you wanted to do or you may not be able to get a full time job with training. You need to think of what the alternative will be.

Look at the alternative career options, and have 2 or 3 choices available for if things don’t go as you initially planned.