Curwen Careers Day
Aims
By the end of Curwen’s careers day we would like the children to:
-Have an increased awareness of the variety of jobs in the world.
-Become more aware of the skills needed for the job they think they would like when they are older.
-Have a better understanding of what education is needed for the job they would like when they are older
-Be able to articulate how education links to jobs and the importance of what they are doing now to later life.
-Become more excited and knowledgeable about further education and the jobs market
What happened?
On Wednesday 5th July we held a Careers day event at Curwen Primary School. Volunteers from various professions, many which included parents and members of the community, were invited in to showcase their jobs to children from years 1 to 6. We had a range of jobs including an accountant, sports development officer, jewellery designer, sports coach, speech and language therapist, barber, radio presenter, electrician and policeman to name a few.
Children spent the morning visiting the volunteers to ask them questions about their job role and also had the opportunity to try out some of the tasks involved in different professions. The children asked lots of interesting questions to find out all about each job as well as what skills they might need, to carry out each job successfully. In the afternoon each class presented a job which they had been learning about, to another class and parents who joined us. All the children had an exciting day learning about many different careers and beginning to think about what the future holds for them!
The impact:
- Pre-career day there was a general buzz about the school, children were excited for the day and asking lots of questions with regards careers day and the variety of jobs there are in the world.
- Enabled children to broaden their horizons on the many different career prospects available to them.
- The events of the day supported their aspirations to aim high in achieving all possibilities.
- Children have been able to articulate the skills and attributes needed to be successful in various areas of industry.
- Children developed confidence speaking to unfamiliar individuals and worked on their speaking and listening skills.
- Links have been made with outside providers to develop future opportunities for the children.
- Children are talking about careers and beginning to think about what they may need to do in secondary school in order to get into their desired jobs.
What the children said
It was evident that the children were very engaged in the events for the day and it was great to see so many dressed up as their dream jobs. Children were inspired by speaking to the volunteers and the quotes below are some examples of what they said.
- “I liked it when we were travel agents because I got to show other children what I learnt about the job and other countries”
- “I really enjoyed speaking to the volunteers because they told me lots about how to do their job”
- “ I want to be an accountant now because I like maths and I learnt what I need to do so I can be an accountant”
- “ I realised I have a lot of skills, like good communication that I can use in a job when I grow up”
- “ I enjoyed asking the adults what inspired them to do their job and what they enjoy about working”
What the volunteers said
In turn, the volunteers were also extremely happy they took part in our event and were pleased to have been a part of giving our children the opportunity to learn about different jobs. Volunteers expressed their appreciation in our written feedback evaluations and the quotes below are a few examples of what they wrote.
- “It was great to interact with the children who were extremely enthusiastic and asked some fantastic questions”
- “I enjoyed speaking to the children and hearing about their on aspirations”
- “It was fantastic getting to know the children and providing them with information that could impact on choices about future careers”
- “The children at Curwen are amazing, so engaged and enthused about all the possible careers out there”
- “The event was very well organised and was an excellent way to use my time. The children are clearly very happy and they are a credit to the school”
