Exploring Career Choices

22.02.22

Lancing College’s My Future programme was launched in 2019. It focuses on a ‘whole school’ approach, supporting pupils in their future choices and helping them to identify and explore career opportunities.

This Career programme starts as early as in the Third Form, focusing on life skills during the weekly PSHE lessons. In the Fourth Form, the PSHE programme continues alongside an introduction to CV building. The programme takes on a stronger focus in the Fifth Form: at the beginning of the year the whole year group takes an online assessment, which uses a combination of psychometric assessments and questionnaires to identify the potential of every pupil, advising on where their strengths and preferences lie. After analysing the results, impartial recommendations are offered for careers and subjects that match the pupils’ abilities and interests. Pupils also attend a one-to-one career counselling session with a dedicated career coach to further explore their future options.

An important event in the Fifth Form’s timetable is the annual Careers Fair, which takes place in November. This year we showcased 17 sectors – from Medicine and Finance to Sustainability and Law, with four interactive sessions for each pupil. The speakers, part of the Lancing community of parents and alumni, always offer an invaluable insight into their own careers, discussing entry routes and key skills they needed to pursue the career of their choice.
Following their GCSE exams, pupils are encouraged to seek opportunities to gain an understanding of the world of work through work experience and shadowing.

In the Sixth Form, pupils’ preparation continues with additional sessions aimed at understanding the workplace and exploring career options. A dedicated event, Careers in Depth, brings in experts representing the wide breadth of each sector; they share information about their roles and their specific industry. This year seven sectors were represented, including law, engineering, financial services, medicine, arts & media, biosciences and business & management.

Diana Cree
Executive Director External Relations