Employment and Apprenticeships

Full-time employment or an apprenticeship is an option after Year 11 or Sixth Form.

There are an increasing number of employers who offer school leaver apprenticeships in addition to their traditional graduate training schemes. In addition to earning a wage, these opportunities often include paid study to gain qualifications required by the industry.

Higher & Degree Apprenticeships (sometimes called Sponsored Degrees) are a great alternative to the traditional university experience, offering qualifications up to degree level, no tuition fees and the opportunity to earn while you learn. Higher & Degree apprentices typically split their time between college or university and the workplace. As with other apprenticeships they are employed throughout but you end up with a degree which is paid for by your employer.

Many of the large employer schemes start recruiting well before Christmas each year for their
summer school leaver programmes, so make sure you are looking and applying for vacancies early in
the academic year.

Job Hunting 

Job hunting is a job in itself. There is no one place where you will find vacancies advertised. You will need to use a variety of sources. Look in local papers and on job hunting websites and make use of family and friends to help you find employment.

Your first job should be putting together a CV and cover letter, which you will use to send to employers, either in response to an advertised vacancy or as a speculative application. CV templates for school leaver are widely available on the internet and the careers team has a job hunting pack available.

Below is a list of some of the many websites where you will find further information and job/apprenticeship vacancies advertised:

Career Finder UCASApply ApprenticeshipJob SearchGet My First JobCareer MapProspects Jobs And Work ExperienceMilk RoundE4sAll About School LeaversThe Big ChoiceAll About CareersApprentice KentNot Going To UNIKent JobsThis Is KentJobs In KentIndeedJobsiteTotal JobsJobs Go PublicMonster

Employability Skills

In today’s working world good qualifications alone are not enough. For every job, there will be applicants with the same or better qualifications than you. In order to be successful, you need to have something extra.

In parallel with your studies, you should aim to develop skills that will be of help to you in your future
career as such skills are sought by all kinds of employers. The skills you should be developing are the skills that reflect your own personality, interests and abilities – as these are the qualities that will influence
your eventual choice of career. Seven key employability skills have been identified: Self-management,
Team working, Business and customer awareness, Problem-solving, Communication and literacy, Application of numeracy, Application of information technology. Although you may not realize it, many of these skills will be developed through your studies in school, both in your curriculum subjects and more specifically through the careers and work related learning programme. You should ensure that you positively engage with all these activities as they will be equally important to your success in future life as your academic studies.

Work Experience/Volunteer/Part-time Jobs

Organize some work experience/volunteering or part-time work to find out if a particular occupation is right for you and to develop essential employability skills. Having these on your CV will make a big difference to your employment applications. All 12 students are required to undertake a minimum of 5 days of work experience, but if you can organize additional placements, this can be advantageous.