Careers and destinations
Forge Valley Sixth Form offers a full and enriching careers programme.
Following the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Careers Education, we ensure that you have the opportunity to explore all your future options, ensuring that you make supported, well-informed and positive decisions about your post-18 journey and future career.
Topics covered include:
- University selection and applications
- Further, higher and degree level Apprenticeships
- Labour market information and future careers
- Entering the World of Work, including application and interview support
- How academic learning relates to employment and the labour market.
To support and inform your career decision-making, you will be invited to participate in a range of activities including interactions with employers, experiences of the workplace and higher education and the opportunity to participate in work experience placements.
In addition, you will be invited to attend a number of 1:1 sessions with an independent qualified careers adviser to develop a personalised career action plan.
Getting ideas and researching careers:
If you don’t have any job ideas and aren't sure what path to take after Sixth Form, think about subjects you like and/or are good at. We suggest using the BBC Bitesize website.
Looking at Job Profiles is useful to understand what qualifications you need. For example, some jobs may need a certain university degree, or a certain A Level. This is why researching careers is so important! The National Careers website and Prospects are a great place to start this research. As well as the roles you are interested in, look at the similar roles suggested at the bottom of the profile. It may inspire you to consider something new.
Sometimes, if you are very unsure about your future education/work, you can use an online quiz to get ideas on the type of career that might suit you, for example, UCAS or NHS Careers (this includes all types of careers in the NHS, such as finance, maintenance etc).
University
The most reliable websites to research possible courses, requirements and qualifications at university are UniFrog and UCAS.
We will support your application to university through designated Y12 and Y13 Directed Study sessions, as well as individual meetings to ensure each application is suitable to send.
UniFrog
UniFrog brings all the available information about university and apprenticeships into one comprehensive, user-friendly platform that helps students make the best choices, and submit the strongest applications. Each student in Sixth Form will be given a log in for UniFrog at the start of Y12, and will use this throughout Sixth Form to log their work experience, enter their skills, create their personal statement, and shortlist their university choices.
UCAS
The UCAS Tariff calculator can help you work out what grades you might need if the university asks for UCAS points.
Job Vacancies
Search on individual employer websites if you have specific interests. Large local employers include Sheffield Council, NHS, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Sheffield.
Jobs are frequently posted and updated on Indeed and Reed.
Apprenticeships are often also listed on the government website Link
Other places to search for jobs and information:
You can usually register on these websites to receive alerts when suitable vacancies are added.
When applying for a job, make sure you tailor any application you make to the person's specification, and highlight the relevant skills you have using examples.