Careers Fair Day
Thursday 24th November at KHS.
The School is holding a Careers Fair day at the School on the 24th November 2011.
The goal of this day is to provide pupils in years 10-13 ( 5th and 6th Forms ) with the opportunity to learn about various careers and to talk directly with a wide range of people who have worked or are still working in different fields.
To this end we are looking for as many Old Boys/Girls et al to participate and facilitate groups.
It really does not matter what you were , what you did, what you are , what your job is now etc. you do have something to offer!
The idea is to engage with the students and talk to them about what they want to do (if they know and probably most will not ) what they are doing in the way of exams etc. discuss jobs available that you know of in that field, qualifications required, information on salary ranges, other options, opportunities that they could follow that do not require university degrees and can even be more rewarding and lucrative.
Where relevant you could even say what you did at KHS and after that!.
The list goes on and on.
During the day there will be various 'workshops' in class rooms around the main School Hall where presenters and helpers can talk to the pupils about their CVs and ask them questions. The aim is to get them used to answering questions they will get asked at an interview and how to deal with them and be confident on many topics.
You will be surprised at how they do relate to former pupils a lot better than you would expect. I'm sure quite a few will not take on board what it is all about, but some will.
There will be approximately 100 pupils involved during the day , a basic itinery will be issued at a later date, lunch for presenters and helpers will be in the 6th Form Bar.
For all those interested in helping, and we can't have too many, either all or just part of the day, please contact (in the first instance) Mike Kent or if you prefer Simon Howlett or Ken Wingfield.
You all know what the problems are regarding employment at the present time, so you don't need me to tell you.
This is your chance to help and put something back and it will only cost you your time.
Please do more than just thinking about it.
Comments
In my opinion the quality, expertise and wide experience of the 23 who have agreed to come so far are about as good as it gets!
If the event is a success(and it had better be!)we will,with peoples permission obviously, publish the list of those who took part,old House, etc.
But it's not too late for anyone else to come.
Mike Kent. 23/10/2011
Everything Charlie Dawson has said I agree with! and also Simon of course.
That's why we (KHSD and KHA ) are trying to get across to the kids bits of paper are not the end to it all, but real hard skills are what are wanted, if these are backed up with the relevant qualifications so much the better.Our main advice is 'you've got to get off your backside and get on with it!' amongst a lot else of course.
We've had a good response so far of ex-pupils who say they will support this day.
Sadly New Zealand is a bit too far and you are correct we can't pay your fares!
But thanks for your thoughts.
Hopefully many others will attempt to be at the School Careers Day, we really can't have too many.
As an aside, who noticed I spelt 'itinerary' the Basingstoke way?
apart from George Winspur ( who gets the prize) but then he was a bright so and so.
Thanks again Charlie, nice to hear from you.
Mike Kent.
Obviously there are many out there who live too far away to help in person, we understand this entirely.
A huge thank you for your words of advice though, which I shall take with me on the day. I'll also point pupils to your post here and they may well get in touch.
I agree with your thoughts on experience. For many businesses the willingness to work, be reliable and knowing how to get on with the task at hand are all still very relevant and sought after skills today.
Simon
I had an interesting and varied career as an HVAC & Building Services Engineer which like may others evolved rather than being planned.
When I stared out, and through most of my working life, the emphasis was on proven ability rather than paper qualifications. As such I opted out of the degree course I had started and learnt by actually doing the job.
I believe there is a difference between being able to do something and being qualified to do it, and the two do not necessarily go together. I made a conscious choice to be good at my job and thanks to the input from various very knowledgeable mentors, I feel I succeeded. Most of the opportunities and experiences I was lucky enough to have were the result of me being approached rather than asking.
However things have now changed and the emphasis is more on paper qualifications rather than experience, which I do not agree with. There is no substitute for experience, and eligibility for positions should evaluate both.
In short my advice to leavers would be to be aware of the fact that over a lifetime the goal posts may move, and you need to be prepared to adapt accordingly.
Should anyone wish to discuss my experiences in more detail please contact me through KHSD.
Charlie Dawson
RSS feed for comments to this post