Bridging the gap

Halewood Academy has joined forces with the Career Academy UK, which will bring a programme that prepares students for the world of work.

The academy model focuses on linking students to the real world of work, through guru lectures, mentoring, workplace visits and internships.

Career Academies UK provides this structured programme and support to the schools and colleges around the UK who operate Career Academies.

It also helps raise young people’s aspirations and bridge the gap between education and work by giving them access to real experience of the world of work.

The Career Academy will provide a structured programme of paid internships, mentoring by employer volunteers, motivational lectures and workshops to give 16-19 year olds the work experience and skills they need to be able to perform more effectively in the wider world. This highly successful programme, running for over ten years, is designed to complement students’ studies.

They work with more than 4,000 volunteers from over 1,400 employers large and small. Their employers are from the public, private and voluntary sectors and include major multi-nationals and almost a third of the FTSE 100 companies.

Gary Evans, principal at Halewood Academy, said: “We are hoping that by linking up with local businesses we will be able to raise the aspirations of the students taking part in the programme.

“But, also the students in Years 7 to 11, because ultimately we want to see our students become the best they can.

“We hope that working with the people from the businesses involved, such as Jaguar Land Rover or Everton in the Community that learning on the job they will gain more experience and place them at the head of the job search and make them more employable.

“The students at Halewood Academy are really motivated about the links we are creating with business as see this as a way forward.

“They will be able to experience what they will need to work in the outside world and to get the best jobs out there.

The Careers Academy work with 140 schools and colleges who operate 180 Career Academies across the UK. Over 2,700 students from all parts of the UK are currently on the programme.

Since they began in 2002, almost 4,000 students have graduated from the programme.