Our Future

 
St Helens Chamber: Learning to Work Programme
 
Year 6 have been completing the Learning to Work Programme which has been delivered by St Helens Chamber in collaboration with the local Parkside housing development. 
This programme has been developed in line with national guidance for Careers Education for Primary School Children and based on years of experience of working in primary schools and receiving feedback from teaching staff. It delivers real employer encounters designed to raise aspirations in children.
 
Their Education programmes work with schools to support them in preparing students for their future careers, raising awareness of local career opportunities and how to access them. They tackle the lack of confidence and build the belief that there are suitable jobs in the local area for school leavers. Their role is to support schools and young people, encouraging them to develop high aspirations and the skills and characteristics that employers need.
 
Through participating in the programme Key Stage 2 children will start to understand:
• About behaviours and attitudes that influence future choices, and begin to explore potential career goals.
• What a business is and the skills needed to succeed in business.
• About business skills and enterprise, the skills that make someone ‘enterprising’.
• The reasons why we work, offering examples of jobs and sectors to work in.
• Explore potential career goals.
 
 
Following each session, the children were asked to document their thoughts about their 'learning to work' journey. 
Below are some of the comments left by the children: 
 
Today's session taught me about the qualifications I could gain whilst at college, such as A-levels and apprenticeships. 
 
I learnt about STEM, which stands for Science, Technology,  Engineering and Maths. I also learnt about jobs that are part of it and how important their jobs are to the world. 
 
I learnt about the endless jobs that you can have. It is important to start your thinking about your qualities and skills now to excel in any jobs you may want in your future. 
 
I learnt that you should always have a back up career because sometimes the jobs you choose don't always work out in the way that you want to. 
 
The sessions with Tracey made us think carefully about our ambitions and futures. It also made us realise that the qualities and skills that we start learning now will benefit us in our future careers too.