Last month, 30 Year 12 and 13 students, boarded a coach to attend the ‘What Career, What Uni’ careers fair at Birmingham NEC. The venue was busy with a vibrant atmosphere, and students engaged well.
The students had varied requirements, with some of them looking for a general direction for a career, and others wanting to find out about uni courses. Some who have university places secured were there to consider post-uni options. Student feedback was fully positive. Some found uni courses that they were previously unaware of, while others had their horizons broadened by engaging and discussing future options with organisations represented at the event, such as the Navy, the NHS and a number of other employers.
Tianna Preston North, who attended the event, commented: “We were able to find out more about opportunities we weren’t aware of before and overall there was something there for everyone, whether that was karaoke for MC Mckinney, universities that specialise in certain subjects such as Law and Performing Arts or creating a CV with job and apprenticeship opportunities.”
“This was a great way of finding out more on how we can progress in the future in a variety of ways and what can lead us to where we want to be. It reduced the pressure to have to find the information through a whole bunch of websites and meant that you could go straight to the stalls you needed to be and find out the information directly from the experts.
“It was also nice to be able to find out that we don’t exactly have to know what we want to do or carry on with and just get a little information to influence our choices; no one felt forced to go look at anywhere they didn’t want to. Some of the stands had interactive parts too, such as the Royal Navy which had virtual reality experience karaoke!
“Personally, I and a group of others spoke to a member of a performance university about studying drama, an opportunity I hadn’t known about before. The representative we spoke to had been in the West End, worked for Disney and explained how all of the people that work at the institution were all professionals in their fields – one of them is currently starring in Emmerdale.
“Although I am in Year 13 and have already made my UCAS decisions, I believe that the group I was with benefited from asking questions for next year, should they choose to apply for university. The event helped ease any nerves and worries they may have had beforehand.”
