Careers
The College provides excellent information, advice and guidance to young people from their first point of contact with us as they explore their post 16 study options right through to the completion of their studies and their future career paths.
Meet the Team
Careers Leader – Assistant Principal Trevor Irving
Careers Adviser – Emma Podmore
The Careers and employability team can be contacted at careers@solihullsfc.ac.uk or 0121 704 2581.
The team deliver individual advice and guidance to students via 1-1 guidance, specialist workshops, CV support, university applications support and maintain and develop links with employers and higher education institutions. A member of the teaching staff leads on careers and employability related curriculum initiatives. Every BTEC student will follow a work experience programme and support is available to A level students in finding placements through links with employers and voluntary organisations.
Careers and employability are also embedded into the Academic Coaching programme which all students follow, and through curriculum areas through a varied programme of delivered sessions, subject themes and incorporating trips and visits and enrichment events. All curriculum areas report on the progress they are making to develop careers and employability opportunities.
The coaching programme can be reviewed here and works towards the 8 Gatsby Benchmarks and the CDI New Career Development Framework. Evaluation and impact of the Programme is reviewed annually by the annual Student Voice and Parent Survey processes. Our work towards the Career Mark has also enabled the College to measure and assess the impact of our Careers programme. Our Destination Report for 2021 (the 2022 Destination Report will be available in the Spring Term 2023) also provides a useful insight into the effectiveness of our Careers programme.
More information about how we positively impact students’ future careers can be found in the Career Impact Guide.
Careers and Higher Education Fair 29th June 2022
Every year a Careers Fair takes place in the Summer Term. The Careers Fair is one of the biggest of its kind in the country and saw more than 63 Higher Education and Apprenticeship providers attending, along with employers. Staff from the visiting institutions set up stands in the College Sports Hall to hand out prospectus and talk to our 1,200+ Year 12 students, offering advice on the courses they offer and their options once they finish their A level or BTEC studies. Among the universities present were local providers Aston, Birmingham, Birmingham City, Newman and Coventry Universities. Many prestigious Russell Group universities were present from further afield too, including Bristol, Exeter, Leicester, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Warwick.
Apprenticeship providers Work Pays and ASK Apprenticeships were present to talk to those students who are considering progression routes other than university. A study abroad organisation called A Star Future were also there to tell students how to go about searching for opportunities outside the UK. cancelled on Friday do we want to add some of the employers attending?
A programme of more than 30 talks were also taking place. Students had to book places on these talks in advance and they included many curriculum area talks such as Chemistry, Economics, English, History, Geography & Geology, IT, Languages, Maths, Psychology and Sociology. Career presentations in areas like Law, Medicine, Nursing and Midwifery, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Teaching and STEM also took place to help guide students aiming to study Higher education courses in these areas. Most of the talks were delivered by university staff, with some also delivering more general sessions on how the UCAS application process works, apprenticeship options, CV writing and developing employability skills. Employers delivered these talks.
The College uses national and local labour market information and destinations information of our students to inform our careers and employability programme and the individual advice and guidance, which supports student choices for the next step.
Click here to see our careers policy
Useful Links
Advocacy Matters – Supports young people with SEND.
Amazing Apprenticeships – Parents Resources regarding apprenticeships.
Apprenticeships – Government site which shows live apprenticeship vacancies.
Apprenticeships – A useful apprenticeships guide for parents.
Barclays LifeSkills – Activities and information regarding the world of work.
Careersbox – Videos and clips of various jobs and careers.
icould – Information, case studies on a variety of careers.
Labour Market Information – Solihull Careers Hub, Routing for You, suite of Labour Market Information resources.
National Careers Service – The government careers websites – information, employer profiles, National and local labour market information, interest quizzes.
Russell Group – The Russell Group is an organisation which represents 24 leading universities. Advice in the Informed Choices pdf on choosing A level subjects and university entry.
Solihull for Success – Solihull MBC Employment and Skills Team are available to offer support in finding employment and training.
STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths careers with a focus on encouraging girls into these careers.
UCAS – Useful website to search for Post 18 courses, advice and information on applications.
The Uni Guide – A useful website which offers useful information on university choices
Notgoingtouni – Alternative ideas to university study
School leaver options – Information and advice on options after post 18 study including a parents guide.
Birmingham Careers Service – Support and advice on options for young people
Volunteering Opportunities – Advice and opportunities on volunteering
Volunteering centres – Advice and opportunities on volunteering
Talking Futures – parent toolkit for talking about careers
