Careers, Progression and Industry Placement

Home| Careers, Progression and Industry Placement

Careers, Progression and Industry Placement

Home| Careers, Progression and Industry Placement

Helping you with progression

We have created a dedicated area to help you with your next steps, including careers, progression and industry placements.

Careers and Employability

Our courses are built to help you turn new talents into a great future. You can expect to get the specialist skills and knowledge of your chosen industry and develop key attributes every employer wants. But getting you career-ready doesn’t stop in the classroom. We’ve got an expert careers team ready to give you impartial, personalised advice on your career journey. They can help you find job opportunities and industry placements, craft your university application, smarten up your CV and develop your interview skills.

If you have any questions at all, please contact Anna Thorpe, Careers & Employability Manager.

Email: careers@bcot.ac.uk Phone: 01256 306339

Progression

Apprenticeships

Earn while you learn and gain experience in your industry whilst developing key skills.

Find a Job

Want to go straight into your industry after college? We can help with that.

Explore options and career progression using:

Internships

Usually unpaid but gain valuable experience within your industry.

As an intern...

You can ease the transition from study to work by putting yourself directly into your desired industry.
You can develop relevant skills and knowledge in what you want to do and immediately put your newly learned skills into action.
Statistics from 2018 show that interns are earning up to £20,000 a year.
You can explore other roles in your industry that you may not have originally considered.
You can gain networking opportunities that could lead you to the next step in your career.
Understand how organisations in the industry operate and problem-solve challenges they face to develop your experience and skills.
Give real work examples to use in future job interviews.
You will be invited to in-company training courses that can support your development after the internship.
You will gain a supervisor who can also be a referee for future job interviews.

Not sure

Not sure what you want to do next? Speak to our Careers Adviser

Helpful Websites

What are my options?

How to Set Goals For Yourself

Whatuni: Compare the Best University Degree Courses UK

Easy time-management tips

Take a gap year

Want a break before heading back into education or finding a job? There are different routes you can go if you choose to take a gap year. Take a look at the different websites below to get an idea about what you can do during a gap year.

University

Here are some helpful links for applying for university:

Interested in finding out more about university?

Take a look at some of the Open Days and online activities run by universities here.

Our dedicated careers adviser can give students impartial careers advice and help you explore progression options, whether that be a job, university place or apprenticeship. You can also get support with your CV and develop interview skills.

As a student, you will have access to:

1-2-1 appointments with a Careers Adviser
Careers drop-in sessions (Mondays and Wednesdays, 11.30am - 1.00pm in the careers room F019)
Support with UCAS applications for university
CV writing
Opportunities to engage with HE providers, employers and wellbeing professionals through events
Motivational guest speakers on mental and physical wellbeing
Talks from industry professionals

View our careers booklet here.

As a student...

You can gain access to specialist jobs with the university's connections.
You can develop transferable skills that you may not be able to learn through another pathway.
You become more employable once you graduate as employers are constantly looking for individuals who are skilled to a degree level.
You will develop your independence which can benefit you later on in life - e.g. paying bills and managing money!
There are arguably more cultural and social experiences that you can benefit from as you will meet like-minded people and experience a different culture in a new place.
You can take advantage of the university's connections, landing you placements, work experience and opens you up to the opportunity of freelancing and creating your own company.
You will gain a qualification at the end of your degree which will support you in becoming an expert in your field.

Industry placements are a key element of the 16 -18 study programme, to gain experience with a relevant employer in your chosen field. An industry placement provides a great opportunity for you to get a taste of working life and see where your course could take you in the future. It will improve your understanding of your course, and enhance your employability skills including time management, networking and teamwork.

We work with a wide range of local and national employers to make sure you get the best opportunities. As part of your course you will hear from guest speakers about career opportunities, the latest technologies and how they got into the industry. Our students have heard from and gained industry placements with employers such as Vodafone, Cisco, Hampshire FA, and Hawk-Eye innovations (Sony).

Some of our course areas are linked with highly regarded companies and institutes in their industries such as Sandown Mercedes-Benz (Automotive), IMechE – Institute of Mechanical Engineers (Engineering) and Mike Taylor Education (Barbering).

View our industry placements guide here.

As a student, you will have access to:

1-2-1 appointments with a Careers Adviser
Careers drop-in sessions (Mondays and Wednesdays, 11.30am - 1.00pm in the careers room F019)
Support with UCAS applications for university
CV writing
Opportunities to engage with HE providers, employers and wellbeing professionals through events
Motivational guest speakers on mental and physical wellbeing
Talks from industry professionals

View our careers booklet here.

As a student...

You can gain access to specialist jobs with the university's connections.
You can develop transferable skills that you may not be able to learn through another pathway.
You become more employable once you graduate as employers are constantly looking for individuals who are skilled to a degree level.
You will develop your independence which can benefit you later on in life - e.g. paying bills and managing money!
There are arguably more cultural and social experiences that you can benefit from as you will meet like-minded people and experience a different culture in a new place.
You can take advantage of the university's connections, landing you placements, work experience and opens you up to the opportunity of freelancing and creating your own company.
You will gain a qualification at the end of your degree which will support you in becoming an expert in your field.