Birkenhead School’s bi-annual Careers Fair took place on Monday, with students and parents filling Bushell Hall to come and talk to the many gathered professionals who had travelled to the School to offer advice and guidance.
A wide range of careers were represented offering students the chance to explore opportunities and find out about different future pathways beyond their education. All Senior students, and their parents, were invited to attend the evening to chat informally to the assembled experts. Many students, from Year 7 to 13, took advantage of the occasion to gain an insight in to the working world and start thinking about their own futures. Some older students who are now thinking about their next steps were able to make helpful contacts to follow up with work experience, guidance with job or university applications and interview practice.
Many industries were catered for at the event highlighting the wide range of careers that students could follow. Sean Marley, director at Mad As Birds Films, was present, as was OB James Smethurst from digital marketing company The Social Desk. Engineering careers was covered by Airbus and EA Technology, and Unilever were also there to talk about the range of options in their worldwide company. Adrian O’Malley and Melanie Walters spoke about dentistry, and healthcare workers promoted their varied fields, including Diabetes Dietician Julia Collier, George Lock from the Allied Services team, and Vascular Surgeon Leith Williams. The Armed Forces were well represented with the Navy, Army and RAF all attending. Law careers guidance came from Carpenters Law, DWF Law and Brabners, and financial services from Quilter Cheviot, Griffiths and Armour, Steven Barber from Bridging Finance Solutions and Will Roberts from Rathbones Plc and Chair of the Old Birkonian Society.
Several higher education providers were also on hand to offer information on potential courses following A levels, including Manchester Metropolitan University, Edge Hill University, Liverpool John Moores University, Manchester Film School, LIPA, SAE Liverpool, and advice on apprenticeships was given by the Liverpool City Region Apprenticeship Hub.
Alongside the informal fair, there was also a series of advice workshops held in the Sixth Form Centre. Topics included ‘the importance of networking’, which was delivered by Josh Stirrett and Andrew Maxwell from the Old Birkonian Society Council, who discussed the benefits of utilising contacts to access work experience and advance career prospects. Maria Williams, from Wirral based company B & M Waste Services, delivered a talk on ‘what employers want’, debunking myths about what students think are priorities on job applications, and highlighting that employers often prefer well-rounded candidates who show a passion for the job, rather than exam results. Internal Futures Team Apprenticeships Advisor, Lisa Fountain, spoke about the growing opportunities in the apprenticeships and degree apprenticeship fields; and Andrew Moore from Manchester Metropolitan University gave information and advice on student finance and the ways to access funds to pay for university.
Carol Keegan, Alumni and Futures Co-ordinator, who organised the event, said, “We would like to send our grateful thanks to all of the professionals who gave up their time to come along to our Careers Fair and offer advice to our students. I would also like to thank the students and parents who supported the evening and hope that they found it useful. Please do come and speak to any members of the Futures Team if you would like to follow up on any of the conversations that took place, or if you would like to explore more career options.”
The next careers event will be a specialist Finance and Law Careers Conference on Monday 10
th February 2020, 5.30pm to 8pm. Students from local schools are also most welcome to attend this free event, please book via
www.bookwhen.com/birkenheadschool
More information on the Futures Team can be found on the Seniors Resources pages on Firefly and by following @lovecareers on Twitter for the latest news.
