Coming soon…

Work Experience Bank

Employability Skills: an online toolkit

Something that has become clear through students visiting the Futures Surgery, is the importance of instilling employability skills in them. From CV and cover letter writing, to interview training, knowing how to tackle tricky interview questions, all the way through to being able to confidently negotiate a salary. Our students can gain significant career advantages by being fully equipped in these areas. Over the coming academic year, we will be working at WHS to develop specific resources around employability as a series of masterclasses provided by experts, available as an online toolkit which staff and students can access for both class-based and independent learning as and when needed. This toolkit will be available for all year groups.

Futures in context

Ed Griffiths Head of Sixth

Outstanding individualised care is at the heart of the WHS Sixth Form, and specialist Futures support is central to that vision. We are delighted that our provision is sector-leading, ensuring all students have the support, care and guidance they deserve to stride out from WHS with all the tools at their disposal to strive.

While virtual opportunities provide a convenient way to gain insights into careers with minimal commitment, many of our students would prefer first-hand in-person experiences following these initial opportunities. For some vocational degree courses certain types of in-person work experience are essential (for example, medicine and veterinary degrees), while for others these provide crucial opportunities to convey their passion and interest in UCAS applications and at university and job interviews. Indeed, they may make the difference in securing an interview in the first place. However, finding in-person work experience has never been more challenging and is one of the main frustrations articulated by students attending the Futures Surgery. At WHS we want to be innovative and leading in providing such opportunities, so we will be building our contacts with industry, with a particular focus on industries that presently lack diversity at the top, to better understand the skills and candidate profiles employers are seeking.

Entrepreneurship Programme

We know the importance of an entrepreneurial mindset in the workplace, and how today entrepreneurial skills are important for all careers and individuals and not just those interested in becoming founder CEOs. The development of an Entrepreneurship Programme, integrated with employability skills through the school’s existing GROW Programme across all year groups, will instil the crucial skills of leadership, communication, innovation and financial acumen, among others.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

As parents of WHS, are you able to provide connections to industry and highlight work experience opportunities offered by your employers or within your own businesses?

Please contact Sheela Sharma at futures@wim.gdst.net to offer support to the Work Experience Bank for WHS students.