Careers Advice

As well as 1:1 advice and guidance appointments, our careers advisers are available to talk to you about a range of topics, including:

• Assisting in selecting the right college or university courses.
• Offering advice on finding and applying for apprenticeships.
• Providing support with crafting effective job applications and CVs.
• Guiding you on UCAS applications and refining personal statements.
• Running workshops to enhance your LinkedIn profile.
• Helping you to narrow down your skills and interests.
• Providing support in the initial weeks to ensure a smooth transition into the course.

While at the college, your tutors and progress mentors will support you in planning your next steps after college. During the early Spring term, with guidance from course staff and the careers team, you will create a progression plan and receive advice on routes into employment, apprenticeships, or university, which is provided for all students.

At Milton Keynes College our careers programme aims to ensure that our students have high aspirations for their career, work choices and develop their employability skills so that they are best-placed to access the widest possible range of options when they leave college.

The Gatsby Report into best practice set out eight benchmarks that we are working towards. The key elements are:

• A stable careers programme
• Learning form career and labour market information
• Addressing the needs of each student
• Linking curriculum learning to careers
• Encounters with employers and employees
• Experiences of workplaces
• Encounters with Higher Education
• Personal guidance

We are proud of the work that we do relating to careers and employability and are constantly striving to improve.

Here are some suggestions of how you can help in terms of providing information and support:

• Looking at career information with your son or daughter and familiarising yourself with the options early on in their college life. This will help them with future planning and thinking about their goals and aspirations for the future as well as their employability skills.
• Talk to them about the world of work in general terms – what you like and dislike about your own role, the jobs of people they know and meet, some of the challenges and realities of the working world – as this helps them to build up a picture of what they want from work.
• Encourage them to be independent in their research.
• If your son/daughter has a careers appointment, they will agree actions with the careers adviser. These will be typed onto the student’s college record within 48 hours of the appointment as well as emailed to them. Encourage them to discuss the report with you.
• Help them to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of different routes and how these may suit them as individuals.
• Encourage them to start planning early – for example, we encourage students to start thinking about their plans at least a year in advance.
• If your son or daughter is happy for you to attend their careers appointment, you are very welcome.

We regularly seek feedback on the value of our careers provision, if you have any comments or suggestions please contact our Careers Lead, Joanna Brown B.A. M.Sc, on joanna.brown@mkcollege.ac.uk or 01908 684143.

At Milton Keynes College, we welcome engagement with employers to add richness and depth to our Study Programmes. We have an active careers programme for our young people to ensure they have high aspirations for their career and work choices and develop their employability skills so that they can access the broadest possible range of options when they leave college. 

The Gatsby Report set out eight benchmarks that we are working towards. The key elements are:

1. A stable careers programme
2. Learning from career and labour market information
3. Addressing the needs of each student
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
5. Encounters with employers and employees
6. Experiences of workplaces
7. Encounters with Further and Higher Education
8. Personal guidance

We are proud of our work relating to careers and employability and are constantly striving to improve. Some of the activities and support our students can benefit from are listed on this page. 

We know that working with employers is a vital part of preparing our students for their future, and we actively look for ways to engage with employers in the school setting and the workplace. If you feel your organisation could help, please get in touch. Below are some of the ways we work with employers are listed below:

• Coming into our classes to talk to students about your organisation and industry.
• Participating in mock interviews for small groups of students.
• Attending our career fairs.
• Providing work experience, shadowing opportunities, or hosting workplace visits for one or more students.
• Sharing details of job vacancies at your organisation by emailing careersteam@mkcollege.ac.uk.
• Informing us about the skills gaps you are currently facing.

We regularly seek feedback from our partners on the value of our careers provision. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let our Careers Lead, Joanna Brown, B.A. M.Sc, know on joanna.brown@mkcollege.ac.uk or 01908 684143

Our study programmes offer integrated work experience focusing on incorporating valuable employer insights. Collaborating closely with an Enterprise Coordinator from the South East Midlands Local Economic Partnership (SEMLEP), we ensure that our courses align with the needs of businesses in the region. Through our partnerships with local employers, we have developed an in-depth understanding of the local labour market. This lets us provide you with well-informed guidance for making decisions, considering factors such as prospects, pay levels, and job security.

The College’s Careers Programme is assessed for its quality and positive impact on students through several methods:

1. The destinations of students after leaving their courses
2. The numbers of students accessing the services on offer
3. Student feedback after 1:1, tutorial sessions and via Student Voice
4. Department planning and self-evaluation reports monitored by the College Senior Leadership Team
5. Matrix Quality Standard re-evaluation and accreditation

This Statement has been written with regard to:

1. Milton Keynes College Careers Strategy [link?] 
2. Careers Guidance for Further Education & Sixth Form Colleges October 2018 – DfE
3. The Gatsby Report on Good Career Guidance 2017 
4. Careers Strategy: Making the most of everyone’s skills and talents December 2017 – DfE

We review our Careers Programme annually. Students, staff, parents or carers, and employers are welcome to add their comments and suggestions by contacting our Careers Lead, Joanna Brown B.A. M.Sc, joanna.brown@mkcollege.ac.uk or 01908 684143