Careers Event at North Durham Academy, Stanley.

On Thursday 23^rd January, we hosted a Careers Event at North Durham Academy, sponsored by Karbon Homes, which was a huge success! This was an extension of the Wellbeing and Employability Programme we completed with ten, Year 10 girls last term. The girls wanted to create and plan a Careers Event with a difference. We had over 30 visitors kindly give up their time to speak to the students about their careers, job roles, companies and their journeys to get to their current positions. The students then had the opportunity to ask questions to the visitors to find out more about their choices at 16, what qualifications are required for their job and any challenges or barriers they have faced in their career.

Our Guests

We had a whole range of professions as guests, including marketing executives, planning officers, architects, science researchers and hairdressers. The students loved getting to speak to different professionals, all of whom have taken different routes to get to where they are today. For instance, some of our guests had taken the traditional A Levels and university route, whilst others had completed apprenticeships or college courses. Many of our guests had also failed exams in the past or faced challenges in their careers such as moving countries, being unsuccessful in an interview or being made redundant.

A Better Understanding...

We hope that the students gained a better understanding of the different routes into work and the different career options available. There are so many opportunities out there and lots of support programmes for students. By hearing from the visitors and their life experiences, we hope that the students realise that it is okay to change your mind, fail or face challenges in your career- this is normal! Be resilient, there is always another option or opportunity that will come your way! One of the student's declared, "Even in Stanley you can be successful.". 

New Partnerships

This event was also successful in creating new partnerships and connections between our guests, who enjoyed meeting other professionals and learning from one another’s experiences. One of these connections was created between Seamus O’Neill, an NHS Scientific Researcher, and Stacey Dobson, Community Connector at Karbon Homes. They will be using research on health inequalities to inform the work Stacey does in the community, providing grants to support community projects.

Wonderful Feedback from our Visitors

“Thank you to Building Self-Belief and Karbon Homes for inviting us to share our experiences and paths to our architectural careers at JDDK Architects. It was a lovely morning meeting fellow professionals from various companies and industries and listening to their great life and career experiences. We hope we inspired some young people to become architects or architectural technologists!” 

Gavin Wu

“Great day to be out and inspiring young people at North Durham Academy. Thank you for the opportunity to be involved.”

Molly Falcus

“Inspiring morning supporting Karbon Homes at a Building Self-Belief CIO Careers Event for Year 10. Spreading the word about career paths in Town Planning, a profession I knew nothing about at the age of 16 and hopefully inspiring a few planners of the future!!” 

Sophie Gooch

“It was amazing to be able to speak with the young people today and share my personal experience. I hope today gave an insight into the pathways and possibilities, and how we are all capable!”

Beth Mein

“I had a great Thursday morning at North Durham Academy talking to the young people in year 10 about my career journey and encouraging them to embrace opportunities.

I have to say that the kids were amazing and really got involved asking questions. Many of them don’t know what career path they want to take (not many do at that age) so it was great to encourage them to explore new opportunities, keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to go follow their passions and dreams.” 

Mel Cant

Feedback from the students and staff at North Durham Academy

"It was a great day - the students really enjoyed and benefitted from it. I look forward to reading the impact report and look forward to work with you all again in the future." - Mrs Graham (Head of Year 10).

"I learnt that communication skills will take you far in life. Believe in yourself and get the hard work done and it will open lots of doors. You don't have to have your life planned already, it's a step-by-step process. A lot of job opportunities, work experience and volunteering options are open and you can find your career path through them. Everybody has a story and it doesn't really matter about your background, we all have a chance and opportunity to excel. Everybody has given each and every one of us an inspiration."

"I enjoyed learning about their stories on their careers and how they got to where they are now. I have learnt to go outside of your comfort zone and to not worry as much about grades."

"I have enjoyed learning how to improve my confidence for jobs. I have learnt to be adventurous in life and that you don't need to stick to a plan."

"I thought the careers event was good. I enjoyed talking about different jobs and different paths you can take. I learnt to stick at school, believe in yourself and do what you will enjoy."

"Most careers of the workers didn't go to plan. Many opportunities lie in the job you work at instead of college or GCSEs. The job you want in the future might not be the one for you. I enjoyed getting to know about the jobs of the visitors and how their journeys went as a child to now."

"I learnt that the job you want may change over time and that's okay! I enjoyed getting to know how many different paths there are."

"I learnt that education is important and will help you get the job you want. Communication is key in many jobs. I enjoyed finding out what qualifications you need to get jobs and hearing how similar some jobs are and how they link to each other."

"I learnt that the job you do first isn't the limit. There are many opportunities regardless of GCSE grades. I enjoyed seeing how many different fields and types of jobs there are."

"I am interested in accounting or marketing from today. I will look into volunteering, work experiences and job opportunities to start."

"Even in Stanley you can be successful."

"You can do anything you want with hard work."

"I was interested mostly in music, however I was a bit interested in psychology from today. I will research more about the careers I've learned about today."

Thank You!

We want to say a massive thank you to the following businesses and people for volunteering their time to attend our event. We really appreciate your support to inspire the next generation.

Stacey Dobson, Jack Appleyard, Emma Donaldson, Eve Griggs and Sarah Bryan from Karbon Homes.

Gavin Wu and Molly Falcus from JDDK Architects.

Craig Taylor, Mark Whitaker and Alexandra Cousins from Phoenix Software.

Sophie Gooch from Pegasus Group.

Asimina Cole and David Brown from RE:GEN.

David Smith and Alex Ferry from Stanley Town Council.

Melanie Cant from the Do Business Network and Elm Marketing Solutions.

Seamus O’Neill from the NHS.

Linda Creegan and Kelly Looney from Newcastle Building Society.

Romilly Green from A J Cutting Edge.

Ian Peart from ESRI.

Andy Baxter and Kasey Murphy from JUMP.

Andy Hill from Beamish Park Golf Club.

Laura Thompson from Greencroft Netball Club.

Kieron Kelly from Blackfyne Football Club.

University students- Bradley Kent (Law at Newcastle), Beth Mein (Psychology with Counselling at Sunderland), Anna Thomas (Physiotherapy at Manchester Metropolitan University) and Eddie Thomas (Quantity Surveying, and Football scholar at Northumbria University).

A big thank you to Sarah Graham and Kristy Smith at North Durham Academy for helping us to organise the event! 

Also, a huge thank you to Stacey Dobson and Jess Alexander from Karbon Homes for being so supportive of our programmes!