The Careers and Enterprise Company Award for Excellence in Careers and Enterprise Synopses 2023/24

Middlesbrough College

Middlesbrough College has a large focus on employer related activity in order to provide its students with a real-life insight into the world of work. Regular liaison and consultation with local employers ensures this this is effective, up-to-date and impactful for students. Regular Employer advisory boards are held within each curriculum department of the college to discuss the relevant knowledge, skills and behaviours from level 1 – 6 in the relevant industry. The curriculum is constructed to allow employers' input via these advisory boards to shape curriculum, identify gaps in curriculum and is designed to give all learners the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life. This particular example focuses on the digital technology curriculum offer within Middlesbrough College, and the strong employer related relationships that have been established and nurtured, resulting in up-to-date skills sharing, alongside increased opportunities for work experience, apprenticeships and work outcomes.

Basingstoke College of Technology (BCoT)

Careers@BCoT provides all students with impartial careers advice to help them explore progression options, whether that be a job, university place or apprenticeship. Through a range of resources including 121 sessions, CV and interview skills sessions and open drop in sessions our students are given the confidence and knowledge to make informed choices about what they do when they leave college. We work with a wide range of local and national employers to make sure students have access to the best employment and work placement opportunities and through guest speakers they get specific insight into career opportunities, the latest technologies and how they got into the industry. As a result our students have worked with and alongside employers such as Vodafone, Cisco and Hampshire FA and we are proud that our alumni have gone on to work at a diverse range of companies including Crocodiles of the World, Stanley Black & Decker, and The Body Shop.

Coleg Sir Gar and Coleg Ceredigion

The ‘Be Ambitious’ programme supports our aspiration to be a centre of excellence for Employability, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise education. Our programme empowers all learners to explore, prepare and connect their education, career aspirations and extra curricular experiences to successfully move into a meaningful career. EXPLORE Explore who you are and find your purpose. Be curious, open-minded and proactive. PREPARE Prepare and innovate your approaches to work and self employment. Become self motivated, go beyond perceived limitations and achieve your personal ambitions and goals. CONNECT Connect and be open towards new possibilities. Be responsive to opportunities by making new connections and networking. The Be Ambitious programme was designed, created and developed by our learners, staff and industry specialists. Our learner-centred approach allows our learners to receive different career guidance needs at different stages. Opportunities for advice and support is tailored to the needs of each learner and embed equality and diversity considerations throughout. Additionally, we have been successful in gaining the Careers Wales Mark, which demonstrates our commitment to continuous improvement in the delivery of the Careers and the World of Work Framework. In view of the importance of this agenda, the Governing Body has appointed a governor to have responsibility for the oversight of employability developments across the college. Our strategy sets out a detailed bilingual framework that provides learners with regular and structured contact with the world of work through formal business partnerships, employer talks, inspirational employer activities, competitions, interview skills, CV writing, industry visits, work experience, careers fairs, college and university visits, and links with external providers. Embedded into teaching and learning, our learners experience programme which includes tutorials. The aims of the Be Ambitious programme are to: Enable all learners to explore their purpose by using the “Ikigai” model; Promote an employability service supporting learners to explore a range of career options and make informed career decisions; Promoting enterprise education and entrepreneurship service supporting learners to explore self-employment. Enable learners to understand the skills and competencies they have to offer employers and how to share this information the job application process; Enable learners to develop bilingual employability and entrepreneurial skills through the promotion of relevant work experience/placement opportunities; Enable individuals to become more knowledgeable about the current labour market and commercially aware of specific job sectors across mid and west Wales; Cultivate strong employer relations to facilitate career opportunities and work collaboratively with a variety of internal and external stakeholders; Promote the importance and the benefits of the Welsh Language in the world of work; Encourage learners to reflect and take responsibility for their personal and professional development and understand the impact of their decision-making on the quality of their lives, and the lives of others; Connect learners to their preferred Job role through our Student Careers Job Hub and Career Coach platform, Promote the importance of lifelong learning and the ability to gain and retain employment. This year we have been invited to speak at several learner conferences, including the Senedd, where the topic of discussion is Westminster Insight - Improving Employability Across Wales Digital Workshop. To discuss how this project is so different to their careers programmes, we have developed the ‘Ikigai’ model to enable learners to explore their purpose and align this with their Career. So work will feel purposeful and meaningful to the learner rather than a ‘must’. Valuing community, family and happiness over money