The Careers Advice Team here at Weston College introduced "My Future Month" earlier this year in March and we have been seeing the benefits ever since.

"My Future Month" combines virtual and face-to-face events to showcase various future opportunities available to our learners, including higher education, apprenticeships, gap years, and self-employment options.

To kick off the month, we provided a virtual program that offered learners a range of webinars, presentations, and talks. These resources were hosted on the Careers Advice Team's SharePoint site, enabling our learners to access information, advice, and guidance conveniently at any time, whether they were at college or at home.

As part of Weston College's "My Future Month," we hosted CareersFest 2023, a face-to-face event held in the Winter Gardens Ballroom. This college-wide gathering featured a marketplace with 28 industry representatives and 25 Higher Education Institutions. Over 1200 learners from Weston College, as well as groups of students from schools such as Priory Community School Academy, Broadoak Academy, Worle Community School Academy, and the King Alfred School Academy, attended the event.

The attendees had the opportunity to network with professionals, explore future career options, and discover various pathways. To encourage interaction with exhibitors, visitors participated in a Treasure Hunt, with a chance to win a prize. Imogen (Year 9 WCSA) and Freya (Year 11 Broadoak Academy) were the winning participants who received Amazon gift vouchers for their outstanding submissions.

Another exciting component of "My Future Month," was the Careers Advice Team’s CV competition that was open to all our full-time learners, as well as those undertaking a traineeship or apprenticeship between the ages of 16 and 19. The judging process involved collaboration between the Careers Advice Team and one of our partners from the Careers Excellence Hub, Hays, who also participated in CareersFest. The winners and runners-up, who have just been announced, from Weston College, Jack, Will, Meghan, Adele, Lucy, and Tim were thrilled to receive £50 and £25 Amazon vouchers as prizes for their outstanding efforts.

Tony Bird, the UK&I Specialism Director at Hays commented,  

“I had the pleasure of judging the Weston College CV writing competition recently on behalf of Hays, which formed part of ‘My Future Month’. I was inspired by the efforts the candidates had gone to, and the CVs are sure to impress employers looking to attract talent in the Southwest. As a resident of Weston-super-Mare, it made me quite proud!”  

The Careers Advice Team were really pleased with the volume and quality of submissions for the competition and are delighted to have collaborated with Hays for this event and is testament to the huge amount of work that goes into ensuring our learners are in a good position to secure their brighter futures!

We caught up with ESOL learner Mohammed, to share his story and ask him about the impact that the course has had on him.

"When I first moved to England, I couldn’t really speak much English, with Arabic being my first language. However, my desire to learn the English language brought me to Weston College, where I could learn, grow, and connect with the community and people from diverse backgrounds.

"The ESOL course at Weston College has really supported me. It has provided me with the tools and resources to improve my English skills. The classes are well-structured, and the teachers are dedicated to helping students succeed.

"We have a lot of fun in college, and I always look forward to coming to class.

"One of the best bits is the great trips we go on. We have done several different things and experienced different industries to help me pick the right course after this one – we even went to the police station.

"The teachers at Weston College are incredible. They are not only knowledgeable and skilled, but they teach everything in an easy and understandable way. They are super helpful too, even with things outside of college.

"This course has helped me to build my skills and grow my confidence with speaking English too. In September I want to start my career in marketing and will be looking for an apprenticeship.

"If English isn’t your first language, and you want to improve, then I think you should definitely study this course. It is a great course and has been the best choice for me to settle into the community and offer my skills to an employer."

Mohammed, ESOL Learner

If you would like to find out about our ESOL course, or apply for the course, click here. 

The Weston College Business Awards are tomorrow! It is time for our final employer award article, looking into our Sustainable Partner of the Year nominees.

Our finalists for this awards are: Airbus, Bristol Airport and Burnham and Weston Energy.

Good luck to all that have been nominated! Award winners will be announced on Thursday 15th June. Stay updated by following our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages or by following #WestonCollegeBusinessAwards2023.