Unit 15 Development planning for a career in business

Good morning year 13

 You'll be delighted to know that in your final year of sixth form we have introduced a unit of study that allows you time to reflect on your career aspirations before you commence your next stage of development be it university, work, apprenticeship or an internship.


As we only have a double lesson on a tuesday morning I would imagine that progress can be made swiftly through the use of e-learning opportunities and electronic submission of coursework and feedback.


I have enclosed a copy of the Unit 15 specification for you to familiarise yourself with so read it during period one and make a note of any questions that you may have.


We can then start the research on how to access career related information and I have enclosed a few links below:

Careersoft         http://www.careers-gateway/ Careersoft

Careers A-Z     http://www.careersa-z.co.uk/ Careers A-Z

Connexions       http://www.connexions-direct.com/ Connexions

Brilliant careers  www.channel4.com/brilliantcareers Brilliant Careers

Suport4learning  http://www.support4learning.org.uk/ Support4Learning

There are also a number of industry-specific websites which have useful career information if your chosen career pathway is not on this list I am sure that we will find the professional association that relates to it for example:

Association of chartered Certified Accountants http://www.acca.co.uk/

The Chartered Insititute of Marketing http://www.cim.co.uk/

Chartered Institute of Personal Development http://www.cipd.co.uk/

The Law Society of England and Wales http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/  

Quality Improvement Agency http://www.sflqi.org/
Institute of Hospitality http://www.instituteofhospitality.org/
Teacher Development Agency http://www.tda.gov.uk/ and the General Teaching Council http://www.gtce.org.uk/

A useful starting point is to carry out a self-assessment (SWOT) of yourself. This could

include your knowledge, interests, leisure activities, qualifications, skills and competences. This would

generate an initial development/action plan linked to personal and career objectives. Self and personal

development might include maintaining a learning diary/log, progress review documentation and records

of meetings with others such as careers officers, employers, tutors or staff from voluntary organisations.

Homework
Take the output from your SWOT analysis and write a short PERSONAL STATEMENT similar to what you would use on a CV or UCAS application.  Let me see both when they are comleted
You may find the following websites helpful to get yourself SWOTTING:

http://www.quintcareers.com/SWOT_Analysis.html
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05_1.htm
http://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers/1350/SWOT-analysis.html
http://www.businessperform.com/talent-management/career_change.html

Dont be surprised if your initial career choices change as information is gathered or your personal circumstances change. Work experience can often be an influential factor in determining career path decisions. Why not start this unit by applying to do some it just might give you the competitive edge as you apply for university or your first full time job.

I hope that this unit proves to be both stimulating and thought provoking and I look forward to supporting you through it over the next four terms.

Good luck & enjoy

Mr T