News19th December 2019
Students from across the Ark network were taught how to make their job application stand out during a Professional Pathways Programme conference.
On December 13, more than 40 volunteers from Bain paired up with students from Year 13 and 11 to teach them how to shine during an interview.
Throughout the day, students had the opportunity to practice the skills they learned in their work readiness lessons at school.
Students implemented the STARR framework – which stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result and Reflection – in a mock interview and networking event.
The conference focussed on ‘making your application stand out’ and encouraged students to persevere in their desired career path.
During mock interviews and group exercises, all students received valuable feedback from volunteers which will help them move forward into high-quality universities or into the first steps in their careers.
l students received valuable feedback from volunteers which will help them move forward into high-quality universities or into the first steps in their careers.
Shaun O’Donnell, who aims to study Pharmacy, said: “It was a good experience speaking to the people from Bain and I got a lot of good advice.”
Georgina Bush, who works in business administration at Bain, said Ark students “were confident” while asking questions throughout the day.
“They have done really well – they were confident. They asked loads of questions and their confidence has been outstanding.”
Kaitlyn Whitley, who is a management consultant at Bain, said: “It was very inspirational, we did some short mock interviews. I was incredibly impressed, they all have such diverse to ambitious careers goals. Everything from an aerospace engineer, to a cardiologist to a sports scientist.
“We spoke a lot about the subjects they wanted to study, and then what those subjects can lead you to in terms of a career.
“They all seem very focused,” she said.
Professional Pathways is a unique and innovative programme of study for Ark students aged 16-18. Teachers are trained to develop a high-quality vocational curriculum that is directly relevant to the workplace. Thecur riculum is enhanced through a series of student facing events with employers who support in delivering curriculum masterclasses and conference workshops and a bespoke work readiness curriculum which teaches students key employability skills.
The Professional Pathways programme would not be effective without the support of a range of partners such as Bain, Capgemini, Salesforce and many more. If you are interested in working with us please get in touch with Emma Thomson, Partnerships Manager on emma.thomson@arkonline.org. To find out more about Ark’s Pathways and Enrichment, see here.
