Lifeskills : Higher Education & Career Development Strategies

Lifeskills
Higher Education & Career:
Advice & Strategies for personal
development and achieving your goals

School Leaver Stats
• University Route (512,000+ 18 year olds placed by UCAS, 2014)
UCAS reports 30% of English and 27% of Welsh 18 year olds entered into high
er education in 2014 up from the previous year (512,414 18 year olds in total)
59% of 19 year olds gained a Level 3 (A/L) qualification (2013)
• Apprenticeships
5.9% of 18 year olds
were in apprenticeships by end of 2013 (National Audit Office)
• Employment - 6.8% were in employment without training (2013)
The number of 18 year olds in higher education has increased year
on year. Though apprenticeships have stayed much the same
Copyright Smarter Lives 2015

This Session’s Topics
•Higher Education – choosing a course and
personal development
•Vocational qualifications, training – other routes
•Planning a Gap Year
•Careers – preparing for work

Higher Education
• Many students are not sure of what they want to
study or what career they should go into at the age of
17!
•Quite a few subjects on offer at universities may not
be what students have studied before e.g. Computer
Science, Law, Engineering, Medicine, Media and
Journalism, Marketing
• As a result few research the courses thoroughly before
they enter them on the application form

Higher Education
• In the UK most universities have specialist courses
with a common first year for say engineering may end
up with a further specialism at the end –e.g.
Electronic Engineering; unlike liberal arts in America
• Each university teaches the same course very
differently – e.g. Computing – its important to read
the course content!

Choosing a course
• Know your strengths and personality/traits before you choose a
course
• How do you know what to study?
• Take a suitable psychometric test with feedback such as Standard
or Advanced Explorer, Morrisby (Futurewise)
• Speak to a careers advisor and others with experience in the field
• Go to the National Careers Service website and research career
routes
• Speak to Teachers, Parents and Advisors and create a skills
profile (see next slide)

Choosing a course
• Check the Complete University Guide , UCAS and check
listing by subject to look into entry requirements for courses
• Read course details on websites and contact Admissions and
Departments at Universities to get more information

Know Yourself Better – Skills Analysis
What are skills? They are not traits!
• Transferable (functional) skills are the most basic unit of your career – they are what
you take with you to the work you choose
• The following are types of transferable skills: Make a table of your skills
Data Skills
• Using intuition
• Coordinating/Innovating
• Design, use artistic ability, originality
• Visualize
• Organise, classify
• Work with numbers, compute
• Problem solve
• Analyse, break down
• Imagine
• Plan
• Program
• Research
• Compile, keep records
People Skills
• Mentoring
• Negotiating
• Instructing
• Supervising
• Speaking
• Empathy, warmth
• Advise
• Teach/tutor, train
• Lead, be a pioneer
• Serve, care for
• Amuse, entertain
• Communicate well
• Play an instrument
Skills with Things
• Control, get things done
• Repair
• Manufacture, make
• Construct
• Finish, restore
• Set up/assemble
• Operate
• Dexterity, Nimble fingers
• Shape, Model, Sculpt
• Manipulate

Traits
Now consider your Traits checklist – examples are:
• I am accurate with how I analyse information or dataAccurate
• I am achievement orientated with tasksAchievement orientated
• I can be adaptable with situations and peopleAdaptable
• I can be assertive in situationsAssertive
• I can be authoritative in a teamAuthoritative
• I can keep my calmCalm
• I am cautious in decision makingCautious
• I can be creative in designingCreative
• I am diligent at applying myself to my workDiligent
• I am dynamic and like to move from task to taskDynamic
• I am innovative in my problem solvingInnovative
• I can be perceptive about people and situationsPerceptive
• I am very practical in organising tasksPractical
• I work quickly with numbers and dataWorks quickly
• I am rational in decision makingRational
• I am realistic in my planning of tasks and timingRealistic
• I am resourceful at solving problems and issuesResourceful
• I am very self reliant in how I workSelf reliant
• I am versatile with working with different types of environmentVersatile

Skills supported by Traits
Start looking at your skills which are then supported by traits and you begin to
see why certain skills will be suitable for certain fields of work and further study
Examples:
- Data skills: analyses, break down; Trait : Accurate with analysis and detail : Can be
accurate at breaking down information and analysing : good skill for a mathematician or
scientist
- People skill: Mentoring, teaching advise: Trait: Perceptive and adaptable with people and
situations – good skills for a teacher, advisor, trainer
- Skill with things: Dexterity, nimble fingers; Traits: Creative and achievement based maybe
good at art/design/ music

Choosing a course
•It is useful to know ahead of further study
whether a certain field of study suits you as
a person with particular skills or traits
•But in choosing a career, you need consider
if you enjoy what you go on to study as
people don’t always want to do what they
are good at!

Choosing Options
So you know what you are good at doing and what you enjoy. What next?
• Higher Education at a University or College full time or part time leading
to a degree
• Online Learning /Distance Courses : where a degree or other
qualification can be achieved by material sent, studied and assessed
online – helps study whilst working but takes longer as part time

Other routes..
• So you know what you are good at doing and what you enjoy. What
next?
Apprenticeships – on the job learning and working towards
qualification or position. There are several levels of this from 16+
years up to degree apprenticeships which are a new offering
allowing work based qualifications that go towards earning a
degree. UCAS has some details on this. Employers and institutions
work together to create courses that fit around work training.
More information on Degree Apprenticeships can be found Here

University Education
• If you have decided on the University route and have chosen your
course, consider what skills and experience you will gain from this
period and how you can maximise your learning and development
towards later career or self employment
• Employers value qualifications and evidence shows that graduates do
earn a premium when first starting a job
• Not all graduate courses are valued in this way by employers – so
choosing a course should involve a thorough evaluation of benefits of
the expense of the course against future earnings potential

Top ten subjects with the highest professional premium 2014
graduates
Source: Complete University Guide 2015
Subject
Professional
job
Non-professional
job
£ Difference
Chemical Engineering £28,641 £16,111 £12,530
General Engineering £27,452 £15,716 £11,736
Physics & Astronomy £24,976 £14,802 £10,174
Mechanical Engineering £26,420 £16,910 £9,510
Economics £26,630 £17,295 £9,335
Social Work £24,004 £14,927 £9,077
Librarianship &
Information
Management
£24,116 £15,229 £8,887
Electrical & Electronic
Engineering
£22,014 £13,333 £8,681
Physiotherapy £22,014 £13,333 £8,681
Geology £23,029 £14,676 £8,353Copyright Smarter Lives 2015

Subjects with the lowest professional premium
2014 graduates
Subject
Professional
job
Non-professional
job Difference
Celtic Studies £18,497 £16,484 £2,013
Middle Eastern &
African Studies
£19,441 £16,968 £2,473
Music £17,484 £15,002 £2,482
Drama, Dance &
Cinematics
£16,932 £14,380 £2,552
East & South Asian
Studies
£19,075 £16,154 £2,921
Communication &
Media Studies
£18,212 £15,154 £3,058
Linguistics £18,934 £15,731 £3,203
Hospitality, Leisure,
Recreation &
Tourism
£19,341 £15,913 £3,428
Italian £19,632 £16,103 £3,529
Law £19,699 £16,043 £3,656Copyright Smarter Lives 2015

Strategies to increase your potential
• If you are going into Higher Education or apprenticeship training, you
will want to make the most of the environment and opportunities you
have to improve your future chances
• Learning can be powerful when combined with being fully immersed
in the process and using self development and goal setting to
overcome barriers to success
• What do you do well? List skills and areas of development and work
on those areas you need to develop
How do your maximise your potential with learning and
development?

Setting Goals
Coaching involves the use of goal setting to help coachees
develop a plan to move from where they are to where they
want to be.
SMART goals is one method used by coaches to set up a plan
for clients:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely

Get into the Growth Mindset
A study by world renowned Stanford University psychologist Dr Carol
Dweck uncovered a revolutionary idea – the power of mindsets
Her work concluded that it is not just abilities that bring success but
how we approach goals – with a Fixed mindset or Growth mindset
The study revealed that with the right mindset one can motivate
oneself to raise grades and achieve goals that may otherwise may
remain out of reach
Specialist coaching can help with mental strategies towards learning and development. If you
would like to find out more about this you can sign up for posts or book a free session at the
Smarter Lives website.

Personal Development
As a student, look for all the development opportunities available to
you. It is not just about academics but learning useful personal skills
and developing experience for the future.
• Join clubs and societies – try something you’ve never done before
• Put yourself forward for leadership roles within teams or societies
• Volunteer for causes or charities
• Create interest groups if you cannot find one for your interest and
organise activities
• Do some fundraising for your college or a cause
• Get some work experience in holidays – something in the line of what
you study would be good but any work is good experience

Not Ready ? Gap Year
There are several reasons students take a break between School
and Higher Education
• Wanting some work experience to help towards getting into a
course – this can help with some competitive courses
• Want to apply for a course with results rather than predictions as
the predicted grades may not be high enough

Gap Year Options..
• Not yet ready for university and would like to earn and travel before
full time study
• Want to explore other options before deciding whether to spend the
time and money on a degree
• Not received the offers they want and wish to re apply with results to
get into competitive courses or different universities
Make a gap year count by researching work placements, internships,
volunteering with travel and other opportunities and plan ahead. The
best opportunities get filled up fast!

Gap Year & Placement Opportunities
The following are useful sites for work experience opportunities and gap year
internships:
• Prospects
• Student Ladder
• Rate My Placement internships
• Large Companies such as IBM have internship and placement schemes advertised on
their websites – look them up
• Use Your Contacts! Set up an account on LinkedIn for networking. Join interest groups for
field you are interested in. Fill out your experience so recruiters can see your CV.
• Several companies now offer volunteering and foreign work and travel opportunities.
A fee is usually involved to help set up the work and visas etc
• Register with recruitment agencies for internships and work – most have online forms

Careers – Where are you heading?
There are many websites where information is available on different
types of careers:
• Total Professions is an informative site with videos of people talking
about their professions
• Employment
• Self Employment
Most new graduates or qualified trainees would not choose self
employment straight away as they wish to build experience but some
may do so – for example: Artists, Performers, Musicians, Computer
scientists and website designers who may work freelance

Your CV
After completing further education or training, the biggest step is
starting your career and for this you need a good CV!
**Things to remember when creating your CV/Resume and applying
for jobs**
• Google is your resume! Due to the explosion in the use of social
media employers can find out a lot about an applicant by their
media profiles – be aware and keep it clean and interesting (some
universities check media too)
• Use the power of networking professional sites such as LinkedIn to
add interesting experience, other skills, voluntary work etc. Join
interest groups on media and LinkedIn to be better informed

Job Applications and CV
• Create an interesting CV tailored
to the job you are applying for.
Update this regularly with
feedback
• Use a good clear layout
highlighting experience relevant
to the job you are applying for
• Use interesting experiences or
projects to support your
statement of skills
• A profile statement about
yourself, your qualifications and
experience, skills, interests and
don’t forget to include positions
of leadership

Example CVs

Wrap Up
• Develop a personal mission statement through university and your studies
which can be updated constantly to keep your goals and vision clear
• Ask for advice and feedback when things do not go as you planned
• NEVER Give Up!
• For further inspirational advice and guidance visit my site
Smarter Lives Coaching
Where you can book a free first session for online/ one to one /group
coaching or specific advice on educational strategies, business
mentoring/coaching and personal development
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Lifeskills : Higher Education & Career Development Strategies

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