Apprenticeships Success

Forest School’s focus on apprenticeships is delivering success for students

The Careers team at Forest School have been working closely with the Sixth Form leadership on raising the profile of apprenticeship schemes and, in recent years, have been instrumental in building a tailored programme that ensures Forest pupils are fully informed and prepared for success in gaining apprenticeship places.  This year we are extremely proud to be sending students to PwC and EY.

The Forest School Careers Programme features:

• In-house Apprenticeship Workshops where Forest pupils hear from high-profile speakers – including Jonathan Mitchel from the Institute of Apprenticeships – and apprentices themselves who share first-hand experiences of the clear career benefits of choosing an apprenticeship
• Lookout Lectures which are now open to Y12 and Y13 with a renewed focus on career journeys and destinations
• The Higher Education and Careers Fair which takes place at Forest offering pupils direct access to apprenticeship employers

The Forest Diploma has also been reviewed and expanded and now features a Professional Skills section which is taught to all Year 12s – one lesson a week. This section now includes an introduction to business-critical soft skills; aptitude, psychometric and personality testing; CV building, interview techniques, presentation skills and models and styles of leadership.

Sue Coates, Careers Manager and Elizabeth Adshead Assistant Head of Sixth Form are continually keeping abreast of the latest developments in the sector, providing resources and supporting students with information on opportunities as well as providing extensive preparation for the interview process. In their words ‘Apprenticeships today are a no brainer. Who wouldn’t want to earn money and get a degree with no student debt’? Their enthusiasm is working as the school celebrates the following students’ placements:

Sruthi Sreekumar

‘I have a Management Consulting Apprenticeship at PwC. I wanted to go to a top University to get into a place like PwC but then I received an offer directly from them so I’m going to grab the opportunity now.’

Rhys Edwards

‘I have a Trainee Associate Apprenticeship at EY. I decided I wanted to do an apprenticeship because it offered a faster route into my chosen career field and I still get my Masters degree!’

Ziana Butt

‘I have a Digital and Technology Solutions Degree Apprenticeship at EY. Doing a degree apprenticeship means I do not miss out on getting a degree and I will have three year’s work experience at the end.’

Forest looks forward to seeing many more students win places at prestigious companies’ apprenticeship schemes in the years to come.

Finally, a note of thanks to all the speakers who have given up their time to talk to Forest pupils about careers and opportunities in their industry sectors.

If you are interested in joining any of the speaker panels at Forest School please contact Scoates@forest.org.uk