Careers

Kettering Buccleuch Academy is committed to providing students with the knowledge, experience and guidance necessary in building aspirations for future careers and studies.

This is achieved through a structured and progressive careers plan from EYFS through the year 13, which provides students with the individualised, focussed support needed to aid their decisions and future progressions, with the ultimate aim of supporting students to make the right decisions for the their futures.

The Careers Lead at Kettering Buccleuch Academy is our Assistant Principal, Stephen Fraher (stephenfraher@kba.uk).

Key partnerships:

• NCOP (National Collaborative Outreach Programme) NCOP
  • A representative of NCOP is based within the academy once a week and provides us with the opportunity to access careers activities that are funded to allow increased engagement of less privileged students with further education.
• SEMLEP (South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership) SEMLEP
  • Our involvement with SEMLEP allows us to share good practice with other education facilities within the local area and provides us with access to a wide variety of careers opportunities.
• NITAL Training and Development NITAL
  • As part of our partnership with NITAL, monthly drop-in services are provided for students to allow them to meet directly with NITAL to discuss potential involvement with their training programmes.
• Unifrog Unifrog
  • Unifrog is a very new initiative within the academy. The platform is used by all students from years 7-13 and provides them with a one-stop shop to access everything careers related, focussing on increasing awareness, developing understanding of the needs of different careers route, and allowing them to complete a progressive plan of their future steps.
• University of Northampton UoN
  • We work closely with the University of Northampton to provide students with the opportunity to experience all that university entails.
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• Knights of Old Knights of Old Group
  • Our working partnership with the Knights of Old Group has enabled several students to complete working placements with them, as well as engaging our younger students with the logistics of the company.
• Prospects Prospects
  •  We have funded a programme that allows all students in year 11 to receive a 1-2-1 careers interview with a careers professional. Students in other year groups also have the opportunity to access this support upon request.

Enterprise Programmes:

Kettering Buccleuch Academy is committed to providing students with challenges beyond the classroom that require them to use and develop skills that will be useful to them within the workplace and during their post-16/18 studies.

• Future Factor- in conjunction with Surbiton High (Years 7-13)
• Scholars Club- UoN (Years 7-11)
• Youth Employment UK

Accessing Careers Information

From careers advice through to interview tips, the National Careers Service provides a comprehensive career guide. Access at the website below:
https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk

Take the buzz test to find out what kind of person you are and the careers that might suit you:

http://icould.com/buzz/?ref=menu

Parents’ Pack Apprenticeship Information

Click here

 

Secondary/Sixth Form Careers Provision

The table below outlines the careers provision in place for year 7-13. This is a working document that in conjunction with our partners, constantly updated to make use of new initiatives and programmes that become available to us.

Key aspects of the programme include:

• The use of the Unifrog platform to provide student with access to pathways, further education opportunities, recording their achievements, tracking their intentions and drafting application materials
• A thorough careers enrichment timetable that provides students with the opportunity to liaise with careers professional
• 1-2-1 careers interviews for all students in year 11 and access if requested for other year groups
• Higher ability PP programme
• University visits at various points throughout their time at the academy
• 1-2-1 UCAS support for 6^th form students
• Opportunities to engage directly with employers and professionals through our Careers Seminars
• Aspiration visits to Cambridge University for the highest performing students in years 9-12.

The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework of 8 guidelines that define the best careers provision in schools and colleges. Our careers strategy is built around them, and they make a great place to start for planning or improving your programme. 

Employer Engagement – Help us to help you

We know that employers in the UK have concerns about skills gaps and the work-readiness of some young people.

Kettering Buccleuch Academy is a member of the SEMLEP Careers and Enterprise Network, part of the national Careers and Enterprise Company programme. 

Our aim is that through employer engagement at all ages, we ensure that young people leave our school with the skills, competencies, knowledge, appropriate qualifications and attitudes needed by employers for both their own career development and economic sustainability and growth.

We need your help

We are looking for passionate employers from businesses and other organisations to help our students and thus shape the future workforce and bring the world of work to life for the next generation.

The following high impact activities are used to work in partnership with businesses to help our students prepare for the world of work:

• Employer Talks
• Business site visits
• Mentoring
• Enterprise activities
• Work experience and job shadowing
• Mock interviews and CV preparation

If you can help with an engagement or for further information, contact Mr Fraher at stephenfraher@kba.uk

Recent Events

Our Secondary Careers and Further Education Evening will be taking place on Thursday 2nd April 6-8pm. The event is the largest school-hosted careers event in Northamptonshire, with us last year hosting over 50 exhibitors from a range universities, training providers and both local and national employers.

The event is open to all year groups and also schools from across the Northamptonshire area.

If you are a company, university or training provider that would like be involved in the event, please contact Assistant Principal, Stephen Fraher stephenfraher@kba.uk

Following the success of this event in previous years, we are once again offered all KBA students from Years 7-13 and from schools in the surrounding area the opportunity to attend our Careers and Higher Education Evening. 

60 organisations gave presentations or provided one to one careers advice to the students and parents who attended.  The presentations included  ‘Applying for medicine and training as a medic’, 'Careers in Sport', ' Applying for Nursing and Midwifery' and 'Careers in Engineering'.  Presentations on apprenticeship routes and different aspects of university were also included in the event.  Employers across many different sectors including engineering, construction, retail, the forces, the legal profession and healthcare, provided an insight into a wide range of potential careers and the different paths that can be taken in order to pursue them.   Our thanks to all those who exhibited at this event.

Nuffield Research Placements

Students in Year 12 have been invited to apply for a prestigious Nuffield Research Placement.  The placement offers students the opportunity to work alongside professional scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians in the workplace.

Careers in Construction

All sixth form students were given the opportunity to attend an event at a local college outlining the higher-level apprenticeship routes into careers in construction. 

PREPARATION FOR THE WORLD OF EMPLOYMENT AND UNIVERSITY INTERVIEWS

Social Mobility Foundation

Students in Year 12 were invited to apply for the Social Mobility Foundation programme. This offers one to one careers guidance and support by matching students to a mentor who is working in the career they wish to join in the future.  Students are invited to skills sessions and sector-specific events which will improve confidence, broaden their horizons and make them more aware of different career routes. There will also be the opportunity for students to undertake internships in the sector in which they want to work.

A number of students in Year 12 attended an event aimed at advising students on how to best prepare for applications to Russell Group universities.  Year 12 students will also have the chance to visit Cambridge University in the SummerTerm for further information on Oxbridge applications.

Global Learning Programme

The Sixth Form Global Learning programme includes a wide array of presentations from universities and apprenticeship providers to ensure students can make an informed choice about their next steps.

All students in Year 12 and 13 also have the option to have a one to one careers interview with a Careers Advisor from Prospects at any point in the year.

In the Summer Term, all Year 12 students will have the oppotunity to visit Nottingham University and Loughborugh university for open day visits and  will also undertake a week of work shadowing.

COMPETITIVE EDGE PROGRAMME

Students in Year 12 and 13  have had  the opportunity to take part in the Competitive Edge Programme run by Prospects.  The programme is aimed at students who want to go directly into employment at the end of their sixth form studies.  Working with a range of employers, the programme is designed to cover the skills needed to make students employment ready covering areas such as the production of CVs, interview techniques and presentation skills.