Teens given virtual access to careers advice

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Teenagers are benefitting from personalised careers advice from the comfort of their own homes.

Students at BMAT secondary schools in Essex and London are being given direct access to their own careers advisor during lockdown.

Mikaela Pinnock, BMAT careers guidance professional, is hosting virtual one to one career guidance sessions with Year 10 students.

Using Microsoft Teams, chosen students can discuss what they are passionate about, what motivates them and what they enjoy the most in and out of school.

They are also asked about their aspirations, what they want to do in life and whether they have considered college, sixth form, an apprenticeship or university.

Miss Pinnock discusses related career options and hosts a career quiz to help students to consider pathways they may not have been aware of previously.

She said: “This has been a very different way of working, but the students have adapted amazingly well.

“I am passionate about careers guidance and being able to support young people by providing them with all the necessary tools and information to help them make informed choices and decisions about their future.

“I’m not here to tell students what to do or to make decisions for them, just to advise them of all the possible options available to them, to get them to start thinking outside of the box and expanding their minds to possibilities beyond school and to empower them to start making decisions about their future.

“I am absolutely driven to ensure barriers are removed to enable young people to continue on in education.”

Work has started with students at Burnt Mill Academy, in Harlow, and Royal Docks Academy, in Newham.

Francis Collins, associate headteacher at Burnt Mill, said: “As well as all the academic work we are virtually providing for our students, we have also taken the opportunity to help Year 10 students to focus on their future.

“This different way of working is a credit to our fantastic staff who are overseeing this project. Feedback from students has been fantastic.”