Careers Information, Advice and Guidance
Careers guidance is available to all NTS students from home or at school.
Careers at NTS
A great way to spend some time spare is to start doing some research, into yourself, your skills, your ambitions and find out the real information about what your future may look like. Find out what pathways may take you there such as GCSE’s, A levels, T levels, Further Education College, Apprenticeships or University.
A new and improved START in being launched in September 2021. This new version will enable you to do even more. Experiences such as using Skill-Builder and integrated Virtual Work Experiences. You will be able to both rate your skills and the activities you will be taking part in. By recording your skills and learning START will even help create your CV.
START enables you to do all of this in one place. Based on your likes and dislikes START can help you make your future decisions and learn about the future job market, to the education and qualifications you may need to succeed. Each role will give you top tips in how to reach your goals.
Check your locker for some links to great opportunities such as Virtual Work Experience, and links to local Further Education providers or any certificates you may have such as attendance or hobbies and keep them all in one place.
If you have any issues please contact Mrs Mullarkey on jmullarkey@nts.cumbria.sch.uk
Careers Newsletter – Autumn 2020 Edition
Careers Newsletter – Spring 2021 Edition
Careers Newsletter – Summer 2021 Edition
Careers Newsletter – Autumn 2021 Edition
Careers Newsletter – Spring 2022 Edition
Careers Newsletter – Summer 2022 Edition
Careers Newsletter – Autumn 2022 Edition
Careers Newsletter – Spring 2023 Edition
Year 10 – Work Experience
Please find below information regarding Year 10 Work Experience opportunities which pupils have been shown in a recent assembly
Virtual Work Experience Programme (VWEX)
As we move into new ways of delivering our careers programme, the following guide for Virtual Work Experience opportunities is attached with many opportunities in more diverse areas of industry are available. Please note some Work Experience opportunities are a paid service so please ensure you read the information carefully.
https://www.theparentsguideto.co.uk/post/virtual-work-experience
Some of these organisations offer amazing insight days and work experience across the UK. These include Disney, Cisco, Santander, the Bank of England, the NHS, Marie Curie etc.
Most opportunities are for young people (aged 14-19) from across the UK to undertake structured, interactive work experience placements with prestigious employers remotely (at school or home) however some are available from age 16 upwards depending on the subject.
VWEX – Speakers for school link
Virtual Internships | Learn from real work – Forage (theforage.com)
Work Experience Programmes 2023
For parents and carers:
Options post 16 (Y11)
It’s not too early for parents to start considering what choices are available for their teens after GCSE. Do they know what further qualifications their teen could take and whether staying at school, going to college or entering the workplace could be the best choice?
The Parent Guide to National Careers Week 2023
What are your teen’s options after GCSE?
Link to a Parents’ Toolkit for career conversation
The Parents’ Guide to T Levels – free download (Y11):
T Levels are an exciting new option in sixth form education that provide a recognized qualification tailored to industry needs and skills. It’s a great choice for students that want to learn practical skills relevant to certain jobs, regardless of whether they want to go on to study for a degree, take alternative further education or go straight into the workplace after sixth form.
Because they were only introduced in 2020, parents might be unsure about why T Levels are a valuable option to consider, so we’ve summarized everything in our guide, including:
- What’s involved with studying T Levels and where it might lead afterwards
- The subject choices available as of 2022
- What they’ll learn in the course
- The qualifications needed to take them
- The Transition Programme for those struggling to meet minimum entry requirements
- The industry placement
- A summary of alternative options if T Levels are not right for them
https://www.theparentsguideto.co.uk/t-levels
Apprenticeships (Y11/Y13)
Whether it’s after GCSE or sixth form, apprenticeships are well worth considering but some parents have concerns that these workplace education programmes are a second-rate option for their child. This is not the case.
https://www.theparentsguideto.co.uk/post/is-an-apprenticeship-the-right-choice-for-your-child
Link to explain school leaving age – GOV.UK website
At Nelson Thomlinson School 2020-2021 destinations information shows us to just under 12% of our Year 11 leavers entered into an apprenticeship upon leaving school. This is almost three times the national average! This is a phenomenal achievement in an employment sector that is both competitive and most apprenticeship roles attract a high volume of applications. We had several apprenticeship providers into school in September 2020 to inspire pupils including Gen2 The British Army and System People.
By working together with potential leavers, including regularly reviewing their career interview action plans, we can help guide pupils to become application ready. Encourage your child to attend Monday Job Club 12:35 – 1:00pm in C3 beginning after February half term.
Key Stage 3-4
- Explore the world of STEM – a selection of free online resources available from Learn by Design for all to use, to help explore the world of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths).
Key Stage 4-5
- Go Construct – careers and apprenticeship information in construction.
- EtonX Future Skills – Eton College is making several online self-study courses from the Programme available free of charge. Courses available are CV Writing, Creative Problem Solving, Interview Skills, Making an Impact, Resilience, Research Skills and Writing Skills.
- T- Level pupil guide – preparing for your industry placement
- Aspire Guide to University, further education, and careers
- LMI For All – Labour Market Information
- Labour Market Information Poster
- Start – Careers Information for Cumbria (startprofile.com)
Key Stage 5
- A complete guide to how and why Year 13s should use LinkedIn
- Search and compare undergraduate courses in the UK
- LinkedIn Guide
NTS Careers Plan 2021 – 2024
Preparing our pupils and sixth-formers for their future career is very important to us. Our provision includes all manner of things from assemblies hosted by employers, work ready days, and work experience assistance to career and enterprise opportunities. We will continue to strengthen our relationships with both local and national employers and we had input from over thirty businesses last year. Despite the challenges of Covid 19 we are fully committed to Our Careers Plan with some alternative delivery styles.
Our careers programme is designed to ensure that all pupils and sixth-formers understand the full range of learning opportunities and career pathways that are available to them. This includes both academic and vocational routes, learning in schools, colleges, universities and in the workplace.
We encourage our parents, carers and their children to look at the relevant year group careers programme below, clicking on the appropriate year link. We want to ensure every pupil from Year 7 onwards has access to the information, advice and guidance they need to secure the right future for them.
We also have individual personal guidance sessions available focusing on Years 9 and 11 pupils and our sixth-formers, however, any pupil is welcome to make an appointment.
The following link also provides useful sources of independent advice: 
National Careers Service
Our online Careers Resource START is for all our pupils to use anytime at school or at home on a PC, tablet or phone. It is designed to connect 11-18 year olds with their future career potential. It combines a comprehensive source of information with a personalised experience and career planning tools, helping pupils and sixth-formers make a more informed decision about future study, as well as understand work, industry and career goals. Each pupil and sixth-former has a unique log-on address. We will record any guidance information, and upload action plans, upcoming events, and events attended in pupils’ and sixth-formers ‘virtual lockers’.
Inspira is still able to support young people with careers information advice and guidance. Please click on this link to view the details.
We are delighted to be working directly with Hello Futures again this year who are the Cumbrian hub of the national Uni Connect Programme, funded by the Office for Students (OfS). Their aim is to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers. We are a partnership of further and higher education providers and organisations invested in skills and career development across Cumbria. Hello Futures link
Startprofile link
START Activities To Be Completed
STUDENTS & SIXTH-FORMERS: For help finding out about careers, or making choices about your future, please contact the Careers Leader, Mrs Mullarkey, or your Form Tutor to arrange a personal guidance session. Before any personal guidance interview, we expect you to have completed the ‘About Me’ and ‘My Activities’ on your START profile. This is to ensure we have up-to-date and relevant information about you, before starting our session.
PARENTS AND CARERS: If you have any queries about your child’s career options, pathways or choices, please feel free to contact the Careers Leader, Mrs Mullarkey, at Parents’ Evenings. We invite past students to talk to our current pupils and sixth-formers about moving on, careers choices and life experiences since leaving NTS. However, if any parents, friends or employers are willing to give up 15 minutes of their time to talk to a group of children or deliver a workshop based on their career or profession we’d love to hear from you!
EMPLOYERS & COMMUNITY: We really appreciate the support of employers who are already working with us, and are always looking to engage with employers. There are a number of ways you can get involved, including offers of meaningful work experiences. If you would like more information please contact Mrs Mullarkey directly:
Mrs J Mullarkey tel 016973 42160, extension 250 or email at: jmullarkey@nts.cumbria.sch.uk or TWITTER Careers_NTS 
The Government’s careers strategy aims to ensure that all young people in secondary education get a programme of advice and guidance that is stable, structured and delivered by individuals with the right skills and experience.
At NTS we use the Gatsby Benchmarks to measure the quality of our provision. For further information on these please follow the link: Gatsby Benchmarks link
It is important to us, that we listen to our pupils, community, parents, teachers and employers to ensure we are providing the information both wanted and needed by our pupils. We will continually monitor and evaluate our Careers Programme and develop it further, based upon the feedback we receive from all of our stakeholders.
We particularly welcome parents and pupils from Year 11 to follow us on Twitter (Careers_NTS) for up-to-date information about university, jobs and apprenticeship opportunities.
FOLLOW THE LINKS BELOW TO VIEW THE CAREERS PROGRAMMES FOR EACH YEAR GROUP:
CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINKS FOR CURRENT POST-16 OPTION INFORMATION
Post -16 Bitesize Choices Guide – Pupil
Post – 16 START Choices Guide – Parent
Post -16 Options Careers Leaflet
Follow the link to view our Provider Access policy and Careers policy
Follow the link for information about Cumbria’s economy and labour market Labour Market Briefing – current version.
Follow to link the Cumbria Careers Hub link
The school will review the careers information published in September 2024
CAREERS NEWS
We are delighted to announce the first events in our Success Beyond School series for this academic year. These are live online seminars featuring career experts, designed to help parents amplify their children’s career potential. The events are for parents of students aged 12-18 and are free to attend.
12th October: Making it in Medicine
Expert advice on how to get into medical school
16th November: Future-Proofing Students
Preparing students for the jobs of the future
30th November: Finding a Future in Finance
Gaining the skills for a career in Finance
