5 ways sixth form can jump-start your career
Embracing new opportunities with confidence
Starting a sixth form brings new challenges from meeting new people to starting new subjects. There will be a heavier demand on your time as well as more classwork to juggle with on top of taking part in supportive development opportunities. In all cases, this is a fantastic new opportunity for personal growth, professional development and more importantly enjoying your time and learning something new.
Here are the 5 ways sixth-form can boost your career prospects from day one.
1. Social life
College brings together people from all walks of life. You will get to meet and thrive with people of different ethnic, social, and economic backgrounds, those with the same interests as you, and those who have different interests that you can learn from.
You’ll be able to build a solid network of friends with who you can regularly socialise, work, and share ideas. You will also have a chance to be competitive and interactive with others in sporting clubs, and other societies helping you to build strong communcation, interaction and collaboration skills.
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2. Clubs and societies
This is a time of joining new endeavors. You may be interested in a debate club or a student union group that represents current issues and seek resolutions. You may be interested in activities for leisure such as chess club, book club, and sports. Or perhaps something more subject-based, such as a coding club for computer science enthusiasts or a chemistry society for young and upcoming scientists.
You will find many opportunities, ranging from creative arts to enterprise. This is a chance for you to discover more about yourself, find new interests, expand your subject knowledge, and enhance your skills such as critical thinking, persuasion and teamwork amongst a few.
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3. Broader range of subjects
You will have a chance to choose from a much wider range of options than your secondary school. Subjects will range from STEM to Creative Arts and from Business to Sports and more. You will also have different levels and types of qualifications, such as A Levels, T Levels or Vocational courses to choose from depending on your grades so courses will be tailored to your ability and potential.
One of the best reasons why college is a great place is that your progression and career choices after college become wider and more available. You can choose from university degrees, higher diplomas, apprenticeships, degree apprenticeships, or employment for which you will receive a whole host of careers advice and guidance from Tutors, Careers Advisors, and your subject teachers.
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4. Get work ready
Most courses have work experience opportunities. This is where you will build real-life work skills and be given actual work responsibilities. You will be accountable for your work tasks and report to a supervisor who will train, and guide you in the field of work you are in. This will help you build your resilience, teamwork, time management, and more importantly, your work ethic.
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5. Build a strong CV for future employment
Your experience as a college student will leave you with invaluable experiences and skills. You will be able to start building on the first part of your CV, highlighting all of your soft skills such as time management, communication, creativity, critical thinking, and more. This is a chance for you to show how your involvement in various clubs and societies and sporting activities has helped you develop a strong skill-set such as presentation, public speaking, leadership, and social interaction skills for future employment.
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College is a pathway to success and a solid route to a potentially lucrative career. Make sure you get involved in as many new opportunities as you can to support your own personal growth and professional development.
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