Careers

Careers Education, Information, Advice & Guidance

Welcome to the Careers Education, Information, Advice & Guidance (CEIAG) at Cowley International College.

The designated CEIAG Lead at Cowley: Mr Watkins. Telephone the main reception on 01744 678 030 or email here.

The CEIAG programme is planned, monitored and evaluated by the Assistant Principal (Head of Personal Development), Mr Watkins, the Work Related Learning Mentor, Mr Mason, and Mr Harper, Careers Administration.

Within the links below, you will find information across CEIAG, providing a useful resource for both students of Cowley and their parents/carers.

Connect with us

If you’d like to connect with the Careers department at Cowley International College, you can find us on Linked In where we post regular updates of what’s going on in Careers @ Cowley.

Cowley International College is committed to providing a planned programme of careers education, information, advice and guidance for all students in Years 7-13, in partnership with a provider of independent and impartial advice (Career Connect).

The careers programme is designed to meet the needs of students at Cowley International College. It follows the Gatsby Benchmarks and is differentiated and personalised to ensure progression through activities that are appropriate to students’ stages of career learning, planning and development.

The impact of the careers programme is measured by the annual Careers surveys which are conducted towards the end of the academic year for each year group as well as the Destinations/NEET reports we produce at the end of every academic year.

CEIAG Programme

Please find below details of what Careers Education students can be expected to go through in each year group at Cowley International College and Cowley Sixth Form College.

Useful links

Careers Newsletters

Every half term, we produce a Careers newsletter with details of upcoming events that students can get involved with. It is sent out to students and parents/carers via email and as an interaction to their Unifrog accounts and they are also available to view below.

October 2023

Request a Careers Appointment

Students can request a 30-minute appointment with our independent Careers Advisors at any time during their time at Cowley.

If you feel like you would benefit from a Careers interview, please click here to email the Careers team, or speak to your Team Tutor, and we will make the necessary arrangements for you.

Resources

Useful links:

How to craft a stellar CV

How to write an outstanding cover letter

12 days of Winter Work Skills

How to format a CV

My Career Podcast from Pathway CTM – available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

What is a cover letter?

A cover letter is a formal document that introduces yourself to an employer, asking them to think about your application.

It should always accompany your CV and is normally 3 to 5 paragraphs long.

Why is a cover letter important?

A cover letter gives you the opportunity to provide the hiring manager with more detail on how your skill set fits with the role you’re applying for, why you are interested in the role and what you will bring to the organisation.

We have created a post covering everything you need to know when it comes to writing a cover letter, view or download a copy below.

Cover letter top tips

Job vs career

You’re probably surrounded by parents, teachers and careers advisors, all telling you that it’s time to think about your career. But what does this mean, and why is it about more than just getting a job? Find out why it’s important to start thinking about.

What are soft skills and why are they important?

Soft skills is a term often used by careers advisors and employers to describe the kind of essential personal skills and social capabilities people need to be able to do most jobs. Find out about some of the key skills that will help you in the future.

How to… Career guides

There is a whole host of careers you may be interested in learning more about. Below, we have collated some interesting ‘how to’ articles which explain how you can involved with that particular career area.

Unifrog

Unifrog is the online Careers platform that all of the students at Cowley use. It brings into one place every apprenticeship, university course and college course in the UK (and further afield), a wide range of career profiles, a vast selection of MOOCs (open online courses), advice on building employability skills and competencies and School Leaver Programmes and many other enrichment opportunities.

The platform makes it easy for students to write their CVs, Personal Statements and record their activities. The video below gives you an idea of what it is and what it has to offer, both to students and parents/carers.

Log in to Unifrog

Students each have their own Unifrog account from when they start with us in Year 7 and will receive continued training on Unifrog in PSHE lessons throughout their time at Cowley.

www.unifrog.org

Policies and useful documents

Provider Access Policy

Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) Policy

DfE Careers guidance and access for education and training providers – October 2018

The next annual review of the Careers provision and policy will take place in Spring 2024.