Careers Resources

Software Available

Adult Directions – This package is very useful for clients who do not know which career they are interested in or are looking for a change and need some inspiration. Clients can search the database if they already have an idea in mind or go on to answer questions regarding their likes and dislikes when choosing a career. From answering these questions a list of career matches will be generated , with the best match at the top of the list.  From here the client can peruse careers information including why the job may be suitable, salary info, training and contacts, which can be printed off and taken away.  Adult Directions also has general information such as Education, Jobs Search, Voluntary work , Qualifications which can be really useful for clients. The questions can take between 20 – 40 minutes to answer and it is best if they speak to an adviser during and after the exercise to get the best out of the programme. If clients are unable to commit to time on the day they can take a flyer and do the online version from home. Please contact the Careers Team for details.

Careerscape – This package is useful for clients who have a good idea of the type of work they are interested in and want some information to take away. The careers information is in a very similar format to that from Adult Directions but clients do not need to answer questions (Adult Direction does also have the direct search facility too). The other good thing about this package is the Job Families section where you can look at careers in Law, Care, Computing etc so clients can look at the different types of role they could do involving a specific subject. Careerscape also has general information such as Education, Jobs Search, Voluntary work , Qualifications which can be really useful for clients.

Exodus – This software package is aimed at students/ clients who are thinking about working / studying or living in another country. It gives an overview of the country and lots of useful information about the labour market and how to get residency/ visas etc. As moving to another country takes months if not years of planning then this is a good way for clients to access information on what they need to do and how to start their plans.

LRC’s – Both LRC’s also have Adult Directions and Careerscape available on their open access pc’s for clients. Also do not forget that the LRCs hold the careers collections for the college and also carry a copy of all the UK HE prospectuses that clients may wish to peruse. The Careers Librarian at the Hub is Cath Lumley and Christine Hodson looks after the careers materials at High Melton.

Useful Web Resources

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/ – This is the official Graduate Careers Service tool and will be useful to all students on current HE programmes or those that have completed one. The site has careers information on ‘What to do with a degree in….’,  Destinations of students, Careers Fairs etc. It also has lots of information on how to write CV’s and job hunt as well as a search facility for Postgraduate courses. There is a search function for graduate employers and live jobs can be sent directly to students by registering for ‘My Prospects’. As well as the web resource they offer may paper based products that can be found in the careers room and in the LRCs.

http://www.ucas.ac.uk/ – Students wishing to apply for full time HE programmes will need to complete an application via the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). The UCAS system in college is managed by the Head of Careers and tutors teaching level 3 programmes are provided with a log in and password in order that they can supply the student with a reference. Many large universities have high competition for their programmes and therefore it is important that students adhere to the correct closing dates for UCAS. The student will given the college buzzword which is DoncasterCollege09 this year and register on-line. They will need to complete all parts of the form which include :

• Personal details
• Choices
• Education
• Work experience
• Personal Statement
• Reference from their tutor

Once the student has completed all their details they will need to pay (£19 for all 5 choices or £9 for one choice) at the cash office. They then will take a copy of their receipt to their tutor who will complete their reference. Once the reference is completed the coordinator for that department will check the whole thing (or the head of careers if they are not available) and send the form to UCAS. The UCAS timetable is featured below:

15 Oct – closing date for Oxford and Cambridge Universities and Medicine and Veterinary courses

15 Jan – closing date for the first round of applications in which all applications will be looked at

24 March – Closing date for Route B (Art and Design only) Art has a route A which follows the same closing date as above. Route B is for those students who need a little longer to choose their subject specialism in the Art field possibly those doing a generic course such as the ABC foundation or Access programme.

30 June – Final closing date for UCAS applications

20 Aug – Clearing, this is where students will ring around universities to see what places are left.

Once applications are sent to the universities, student can keep to date on their application via the TRACK facility which will show them if they have received any offers. The offers may be conditional i.e they need to get specific grades in their A levels etc or unconditional for students that already have enough UCAS points. UCAS points are awarded via the UCAS Tariff i.e an A level at A gives you 120 points a B 100 points and so on. No course will ask for anymore than 360 points.

http://www.lifetime-vacancies.co.uk/ – Young people looking for work and in particular Apprenticeships in the local area can use this database. It will ask students their age and qualification and the type of apprenticeship they are interested in. A list of vacancies will be displayed that students can apply for usually by ringing the local Connexions office.

http://www.doncaster.gov.uk/ – Doncaster Council will advertise their current job vacancies on this site

http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/ – The official apprenticeship website giving information to young people and employers about the scheme

http://www.graduatesyorkshire.co.uk/ – A jobsite for local graduates

http://www.jobs4doncaster.co.uk/ – A jobsite for Doncaster people covering a wide area of job sectors

http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/ – The official Job Centre website that has an online facility to look for jobs of all sectors in any part of the UK

http://www.jobs.guardian.co.uk/ - Search by sector or by employer. Dominant in public sector, education, media, graduate and permanent IT positions. Includes a useful career manager auto-alert facility.

http://www.doncastercvs.org.uk/ – This site is useful for people looking for voluntary work or experience in the Doncaster area.

We also have a large list of job websites to browse in our jobs section