Benchmark Two case study: Belmont Community School
Good Careers Guidance Benchmark Two: Learning from career and labour market information
Every pupil and their parents/carers, should have access to good quality information about future study options and labour market opportunities.
Secondary benchmarks addressed: Three
Aim: To prepare Year 11 students for their first job.
Careers Leader: Scott McMahon, Belmont Community School, ([email protected]).
Belmont Community School noticed a gap in student knowledge as it worked through Benchmark Two.
Many Year 11 students expressed they felt unprepared for their first job with little understanding about rates of pay and their rights as employees.
To address this, Belmont Community School worked in partnership with Department for Work and Pensions and Hays Recruitment to improve students’ understanding and give them more confidence when applying for and accepting job roles.
Activity included a talk from Department for Work and Pensions in Consett, County Durham, about the levels of pay students should expect for temporary / part time work, their individual rights in the workplace, and how rates of pay vary and increase depending on age.
The students also received support from recruitment specialists, Hays, who provided a helpful list of ‘dos and don’ts’ when it comes to applying for jobs.
Belmont Community School has expanded its partnership with Hays to include workshops for students on topics such as building a CV and preparing for interviews. Hays has also offered to provide constructive feedback on students’ CV before they are sent to a prospective employers / apprenticeship providers.
An evaluation of the scheme’s success is currently underway.
Vital ingredients that would make this activity successful if replicated by others:
- Having direct contact with Department for Work and Pensions so that information is coming from an expert in that area, and not a teacher.
- Securing a relevant contact at a recruitment agency for the same reason.
- Ensuring students have their own laptops to adapt templates immediately
Possible challenges to consider:
- Time resource.
- Lack of contacts within outside organisations / businesses
- Lack of ICT equipment