Careers Timetable

August	Post AS and A2 interviews (Dr Cully) Post GCSE interviews (Mr Allen)
September	Year 8 participate in Young Enterprise ‘Big School’ Year 14 QUB Open Day Year 14 University of Ulster Open Day Year 14 begin university applications using UCAS Apply Year 13 begin research project into university courses Year 13 begin to arrange work experience Year 12 Careers programme begins Year 10 Careers programme begins
October	Year 13 work experience deadline Year 12 complete ‘Getting Connected’ questionnaire Year 12 begin interviews with Careers Officers Year 12 & 13 Careers talks begin
November	Year 14 internal deadline for UCAS applications
December
January	Year 13 personal interviews begin (Dr Cully)
Feburary	Year 13 work experience Year 12 careers convention
March	Year 13 research project deadline Year 12 make initial subject choice for Year 13 Year 11 participate in Young Enterprise ‘Economics of Staying in School’ Year 10 make initial subject choice for Year 11 Year 10 personal interviews begin (Mr Allen)
April
May
June	Year 8 participate in Young Enterprise ‘Moving On’

Arrangements

Careers education is an integral part of the teaching of all subjects. At CAI we are keen to encourage pupils to develop:

self knowledge so that they can identify careers which suit their individual interests, abilities and skills;
knowledge and understanding of different careers e.g. a physics lesson might inform pupils about a career in optics;
skills and personal qualities needed to find a job e.g. interview skills which could be acquired in Oral English and those which are needed in employment e.g. punctuality, reliability, honesty, etc..

To achieve this we employ the following strategies to deliver our programme of Careers Information, Education and Guidance:

Units of Work - Employability is one of the strands of Learning for Life and Work which all pupils in Years 8-12 study. In addition to this pupils in Years 10 and 12 have separate careers lessons to help them make appropriate decisions about subjects for GCSE and A-Level. In Year 13 pupils are encouraged to research the course they hope to apply to at university along with a week of Work Experience during the Easter term. Sixth Form pupils are also carefully prepared to complete the UCAS application.
Interviews - Each pupil is individually interviewed by specialist careers staff in Years 10, 12, 13 and 14. In Year 12 pupils have an interview in school with careers officers from the Careers Service, which is part of the Department of Employment & Learning for N.I.
Visiting Speakers - A programme of individual talks is provided by visiting speakers from a wide range of professions, occupations and educational institutions and is available for pupils in Years 12 – 14.
Visits - Visits are organised to Queens University Belfast, University of Ulster and the careers convention organised by Coleraine Business Education Partnership.
Sources of Information - A wide range of written material are available from the careers department and the school library. This information is supplemented by a number of computer programs. “Odyssey” provides a database of almost 1500 occupations whilst “Pathfinder” allows pupils to complete a computer based test before providing a list of suggested jobs and information about appropriate courses. All students are encouraged to use the Internet to research occupation and university choices.
Liaison with parents - Parents can consult staff at the various parents' evenings, especially in Years 10, 12 and 14 where important decisions are being made. Parents are also encouraged to come into school and talk to careers staff at any time.