BHA Careers Policy

“Careers Leaders are responsible for quality assuring a careers programme for the school to ensure it continuously improves and that it delivers the kinds of impacts that are needed for young people.”  Understanding the role of the Careers Leader CEC

Careers Program

CEIAG Careers Policy

Guide To The National Standards

Careers Rationale

The goal of our Careers and Educational guidance programme is to form a cross curriculum collaboration; to supply students with the necessary skills and information to make the right choices for their future education, and equip them to be successful in the world of work.  We aim to have employers come into school and educate our young people about the skills that employers require.  We also aim to inform students about the job fields in the West Midlands that are seeing the highest levels of labour shortages, so that they can ensure a future of secure employment.  We use government information to inform us of the areas where skills and labour shortages are worst and we actively invite employers from these areas to come into school and talk to students about these careers.  We also invite and encourage students to inform us about the careers that they would like more information about so that we can guide them into their future education and encourage them to choose the route to employment that is best for them.

We understand the shortage of students doing advanced level apprenticeships in the Sandwell area and actively encourage students to complete these higher-level apprenticeships, as these are the levels that employers need and actively attempt to employ.  We educate our students about labour market information so that they can see the growth and decline in certain jobs and use this information to make the best choices available about their futures.  We hope that we can create healthy relationships towards education and staying on beyond the compulsory age of 18, in order to lead to more success in their future.  Our program is centred towards helping students find happiness and hope in education and helping them to feel more equipped and confident to move on after school.

Areas that we have identified as having the most acute skills shortages in Sandwell are:

  • Marketing and sales
  • Management
  • Hospitality and catering
  • Care
  • Teaching
  • Nursing
  • Housing
  • Payroll
  • Bookkeeping/accounting
  • HGV licenses

We therefore endeavour to bring in employers from these sectors to inform students about job opportunities that are available in these areas.

Employers have also identified that there are skills that employers in Sandwell need in the workplace that are also in short supply.  These are:

  1. IT Skills
  2. More complex numerical or statistical skills and understanding
  3. Reading and understanding instructions, guidelines, manuals or reports
  4. Manual dexterity – for example to mend, repair, assemble, construct or adjust things

We therefore embed these skills into our whole school curriculum in order to ensure that students gain the most advantages possible.