Skills London 2021

EY UK’s Business Apprenticeship Programme

Connecting skills and the world of work with PwC

Learn about Cory Riverside Energy

Spotlight on apprenticeships:

Apprenticeships have been in the headlines a lot over the last few months as the Government has put in place subsidies to encourage employers to back this route into the workplace. Apprenticeships have the obvious benefit of combing practical training in a job with study, as well as earning a wage. There are different levels of apprenticeships which are equivalent to various education levels and apprentices need to be 16+, living in England and not in full-time education.

What’s on offer?

One of the first things for students to think about is what types of apprenticeships are on offer and how to apply to them. This video from the National Apprenticeship Service is a great introduction.

Degree apprenticeships

Students may be less familiar with degree apprenticeships, how they work and how long they last. This explainer on the type of courses available for allied health services is a useful starting point for seeing how this works in practice and also links to the UCAS information pages.

Taking the BTEC route

For students thinking about the BTEC route, Pearson hosts a range of success stories focused on BTEC apprentices’ experiences, from a chef at Whitbread through to a customer service field engineer with BT, with a video from an IT assistant at Unilever.

Join live sessions

PwC’s Virtual Classroom, created for students in years 10 – 13, is also running a live sessions for school leavers. Anyone interested to watch can register here.

Not Going to Uni is the number one website for school and college leavers who showcase the alternatives to the standard university route. They have hundreds of opportunities that offer apprenticeships, gap years, college courses, internships and more!

Mental health for young people and educators

Deloitte and Mind, the mental health charity, are working in partnership to raise awareness of mental health and to support more young people across the UK, as well as those going above and beyond to ensure education continues throughout this difficult time. They’ve brought together a series of resources for young people, educators and front line teachers, which we are pleased to share:

Information for young people

Mind has a wealth of resources available for young people, from information on wellbeing through to understanding a mental health diagnosis. There are also tips on how to boost confidence and self-esteem, as well as on how to support a friend who is struggling with how they are feeling.

Free resources for educators

Mind has partnered with Twinkl to share free resources for educators during this disrupted time. A range of information on wellbeing, change management, coping with anxiety and more can be downloaded from here.

Support on the front line

Twinkl and Mind have worked together on a Front Line teacher toolkit, including resources from a range of partners sharing advice, guides and numbers to call for 1 – 2‑1 support. The toolkit can be accessed here.

EY UK’s Business Apprenticeship Programme

EY UK’s Business Apprenticeship Programme offers a paid route into the workforce. Through valuable, on-the-job experience, apprentices get to know clients, their businesses and how they work.

The benefits:

Earning a salary from their very first day, apprentices can work towards a professional qualification while learning to solve complex business challenges. Apprentices gain transferable skills, lots of practical experience and a network of mentors, supporting them to do a good job.

What is it like?

Previous EY apprentices have shared their experiences, from first day nerves through to the rapid discovery of what their future career could look like. They’ve shared their stories here. More information on the school leavers programme is available here.

Joining the EY team:

Getting to work with clients, taking part in the company’s social activities and engaging with senior staff, apprentices get involved across the business.

The opportunities:

From Assurance, Strategy and Transactions, to Tax, there are routes in across the business. Interested students can find out more here. For those interested in level 7 apprenticeships, please visit the new dedicated page here.

Exploring the Business Academy

The EY Business Academy balances on-the-job experience with business skills sessions and work shadowing. This paid Business Academy will run from Monday 26 July — Friday 30 July 2021 at locations across the UK. You can find out more here.

What skills do employers value most?

At a time when the world of work is more uncertain than ever, it is critical to focus on building skills, matching them to opportunities and ensuring that students thinking about entering the workplace know how what they are good at maps to what employers are looking for. Below are some resources that: help to outline the skills needed to succeed; take students through what work might work for them; and, offers some insights into how to make a good impression, whatever path they choose:

Frameworks for skills

Skills Builder have created a universal framework to help students, schools, businesses and employees build up the skill set they need to succeed. You can explore the framework here, taking a deep dive into skills from listening through to problem-solving and leadership.

Read the framework

What would suit you?

The National Careers Service skills assessment is a good place to start in helping students think about the type of work they might want to do in the future. Their assessment takes five-10 mins to complete online.

Complete the assessment

For the entrepreneur

If students are thinking about starting their own business when they leave school, college or university, or are looking to find out more about what it means to network and make connections, the Enterprise Festival from Pearson College London has some great events in October that they can sign up to online.

Sign up

First impressions count

Making a good impression is important, whatever students want to do in the future. This resource from PwC sets out how to engage with employers and offers some top tips on how to make sure the first impression is a good one.

Pearson College London has produced a great blog series for anyone thinking about improving their employability. Part one offers templates for CVs and advice on time management, part two talks about how to make the most of any extra time you might benefit from if spending more time at home, part three focuses on how to stay connected and spot opportunities, part four looks at the benefits of volunteering opportunities and part five wraps up the series and encourages you to reflect on what you have achieved, returning to your CV for a final update.

Accenture: finding work that works for you

Accenture is a global consultancy focused on innovation and next-generation technology to meet the challenges of how we will live and work, today and in the future.

Apprenticeship opportunities

Are you interested in earning while you learn? Do you want to explore getting a degree, debt-free? Accenture’s apprenticeships could be for you. From project management, through to becoming a software engineer, this video gives a taste of what to expect.

Finding your career in tech

If you are thinking about a career in tech, this blog is full of inspiration. Shajida Akhtar completed Accenture’s degree apprenticeship programme and has since worked on large-scale tech projects, building new skills in DevOps and Java programming. Find out more about her experience.

Read the blog

Don’t give up

If at first you don’t succeed… this blog is a great exploration of how to take feedback and keep moving towards your dream role. Kurtis Scarratt talks through his path into Accenture and what he is focused on now, from the opportunities of the day job through to getting involved in wider initiatives that are close to his heart.

Get inspired

Making the switch

Temitope Bakare switched from applying to studying English Literature to a technology degree apprenticeship. She talks about what guided her decision, how she reassured her parents and her focus on becoming an Amazon Web Services practitioner. She has some top tips on keeping your options open.

Accenture partnered with Skills London 2020 to deliver a live training event on skills-based interview techniques. This is now available on demand and can be accessed here.

Connecting skills and the world of work with PwC

PwC is focused on helping young people to develop their skills and access careers, whether at PwC or beyond, irrespective of their background. They have created an online toolkit as a free resource for teachers and careers professionals.

A selection of the e‑learns available are highlighted below:

Financial literacy:

Understanding how money works is vital for students as they enter the world of work. The Financial Literacy Skills Curriculum aims to ensure pupils have a broad understanding of essential financial terms, products and services so they can make informed and effective decisions with their financial resources, but also ensuring the foundational financial knowledge and skills expected in most jobs.

Explore the resources

Recruitment:

These e‑learns have been developed by PwC’s Student Recruitment Team and cover three core aspects of their recruitment process, developing pupils understanding and skills needed for applications and online testing, video interviews, and assessment centres. Although developed by PwC, many employers use similar tools, so the content will support students across many application processes.

Technology and digital skills:

From coding to app development and the internet of things, the technology and digital skills e‑learns help students make connections between technology topics they might be interested in and potential careers in those areas, as well as developing multiple employability skills. Each of the sessions are between 45 – 60 mins long.

Access the e-learn

Careers in the curriculum:

For students who want to find out more about how the subjects they study match the jobs they might do in the future, these postcards from PwC staff are a great way to connect the two. Each contains examples of how the skills they learnt are used in practice and the advice they would share with someone making those decisions now.

Read the postcards

Getting to know London Interdisciplinary School

The London Interdisciplinary School (LIS) is building a new university that will give students the knowledge and skills needed to address social and global problems in an increasingly complex world. The LIS curriculum cuts across disciplines and has been designed to give students the skills they need to tackle complex global and local problems, as well as to thrive in an evolving world of work.

LIS’ contextual application process, recently highlighted in a report commissioned by the Office for Students, goes beyond grades by interviewing every applicant and assessing their potential in the context of their personal background.

Overview

Global events show that the world is complex. Future leaders need knowledge that spans beyond the siloed nature of our current higher education system. LIS are building a brand new university that will give students the knowledge and skills needed to address social and global problems in an increasingly interconnected world.

Interdisciplinary degree

LIS’ interdisciplinary degree will involve focused learning on a range of disciplines across the sciences, arts and design, technology, the social sciences, and the humanities. The team believe it’s important to not think in traditional ways when considering these subjects — the world is not divided up in this way, so neither is their degree.

Take a look

The LIS faculty

You can meet the LIS faculty who have joined from world-class institutions such as Harvard, Oxford, and LSE. The team includes epidemiologists, mathematicians, artists, complexity scientists and others from a wide range of academic backgrounds.

Meet the faculty

ID Learning Hub

If you are interested in the interdisciplinary approach, you can visit LIS’ ID Learning Hub, with resources, competitions and personal experiences, there is something for everyone.

Check it out

Graduate prepared

LIS are dedicated to supporting and developing their students by providing the tools and opportunities they need to enhance their career path. These services include internships, dedicated 1:1 careers support and access to a range of workshops.

Online events

Join LIS for an online event to get a feel for their interdisciplinary approach, meet the team and ask any questions you may have. Their online events series includes Q&As, Discovery Day and webinars.

Join LIS Online

Has this sparked your interest in an interdisciplinary approach? You can register for a Discovery Day and other events here.

The many routes to the top of the tree

Young people across the capital and beyond have faced unprecedented disruption to their education, which will have left many wondering how they can plot the career course of their choice.

We’ve pulled together experiences from those who have had unusual routes or experiences that led to where they are now, which we will be supplementing with videos from our members, on the winding road to the top.

Lance Corporal to OT

Ben shares his experience of joining the army and building the skills that enabled him to transition to becoming an occupational therapist in the NHS. His story is a good reminder that where you start is rarely where you finish.

Read Ben's story

Orthoptics

Family experience led one of these students to consider a hospital-based career looking after people’s eyes. If you haven’t heard of orthoptics, have a look here and find out more about the University of Liverpool at the same time.

From Lawyer to Archbishop

Learning to speak on your feet, talking without a script – leading church services and representing clients might have more in common than you think. You can find out more about this and lots of other former students’ experiences at the University of Law here.

Getting into the media

City, University of London journalism student Michelle shares the skills she has learnt, the value of internships (she did one at a top magazine) and the intensity of running a live news day as part of your course. If students think journalism is something other people do, this is well worth a watch.

Working with ExCeL

ExCeL London hosts Skills London as a physical event and is pleased to be supporting this year’s virtual hub. As a committed part of the London community, ExCeL lends it support to a number of schemes in the Borough of Newham, including two that focus specifically on giving young people access to skills and opportunities for the future. Read more in this blog.

Spotlight on ExCeL employees

"I come from three generations of restaurateurs, so it’s fair to say food is in my blood. I did a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Business Finance. However, when it came to choosing a career, it was my passion for food that drew me back towards this industry. I work closely with our food partners on their business strategies to enhance sales, marketing and operations; ensuring that we maximise the opportunity every event brings. There are over 28 retail units in the venue, ranging from high-street brands and boutique units to collaborations with celebrity chefs. I love the excitement this role brings and the fact that no two days are ever the same!”

Amy Chong, Head of Food & Beverage

“My grandad is my inspiration. He set up our family interior design business, teaching me to listen to my clients and understand what they are trying to achieve. I work with hundreds of organisers, exhibitors and out of home brands, helping them to tell their story. I am passionate about helping people bring their brand to life, connecting them with the right audience, to ensure their campaigns are successful.”

Sneha Jangid, Media Sales Manager

“Doing my job well is fundamental to everyone’s experience, whether they are a visitor, exhibitor, organiser, delegate, contractor or a member of the ExCeL team. From a very early age I have taken a huge interest in technology. My role is about translating hardware and software requirements into a solution that works for the users, whether they are our customers or our staff. Last year we partnered with a professional services provider, to upgrade to the latest W-Fi standard (Wi-Fi 5), doubling the number of access points in each hall. This sets the scene for other projects to enhance the IT infrastructure.”

Nishan Jugurnauth, IT Operations Manager

If you would like to find out more about ExCeL’s events, career opportunities or the role it plays in the London Borough of Newham, please visit their website.

Cory Riverside Energy

Cory Riverside Energy (Cory) is one of the UK’s leading resource management, recycling and energy recovery companies, meeting the needs of London’s people and businesses. Cory’s management team is committed to a best-practice apprentice programme and has a strong belief in developing its own talent pipeline to create future leaders of the business.

About Cory Riverside Energy:

There has never been a more exciting time to work in resource management, recycling, and energy recovery. These sectors are among the fastest growing in the UK, backed by significant investment and technical innovation. Cory employs more than three hundred people to operate, support and manage its services and the facilities that transform waste to power a greener future.

Working at Cory:

Steve Taynton, Engineering Manager, shares his experience: “I began my career as an apprentice mechanical technician before joining Cory in 2010. I have since moved through various roles in the company to become Engineering Manager of the Energy from Waste facility in Belvedere. Alongside my current role, and with the company’s support, I am also studying for an Executive MBA through Warwick Business School. Energy from Waste is fascinating: as with any sector, it has its challenges – which I meet daily as an engineer – and opportunities, especially as the country seeks to become a more sustainable, net zero economy.”

Apprenticeship opportunities:

There are three different degree level apprenticeships on offer at Cory. Whatever your skills and ambitions, if you bring commitment and energy, you will be able to make a difference at Cory doing work that really matters. Apprentices are the company’s future, so investing in them is a priority. Whether apprentices choose a mechanical engineering apprenticeship or an electrical engineering apprenticeship, they are guaranteed a good salary; academic or vocational qualifications; hands-on training; and work where they can make a real difference.

Deep-dive into a mechanical apprenticeship:

Cory offers a four-year apprentice contract, with the first four months focused on full-time learning and the remainder of years one and two a mix of off-site learning and on-site experience. At the end of the second year, apprentices complete the Level 3 BTEC and start the NVQ Level 3. These studies are designed to underpin the knowledge required to get the most out of the practical on the job training and experience. In the third and fourth years, apprentices continue to gain further practical experience and work to achieve NVQ Level 3 qualification. High-performing apprentices can also progress to spending one day a week at college studying for an HNC in Engineering.

Want to find out more? Interested in applying? Please get in touch with Cory’s HR team.

Hints and tips for interview

Approach the interviewing process can be a nerve-wracking time, so we’ve included a range of content from our members on top tips for preparation and building confidence, links to events that take you through the whole process and finally some advice on how to make sure you have the content you need to do well.

Preparing for video

This helpful guide from PwC gives a whole range of tips on how to succeed with a video interview, which is worth a watch for people of all ages, whether you are interviewing for the first time, applying for university or recalibrating for an online world.

Read the guide

Top tips for telephone

Pearson Business School has put together seven top tips for telephone interviews, which takes you through the research, preparation and delivery stages, not forgetting tone of voice when your body language isn’t visible.

Read the guide

All you need from BT

You can register for a whole host of online events from BT, which range from how to do a CV update, all the way through to interview tips and approaches to an assessment centre and more.

Sign up

Having the right things to say

If you are worried about finding opportunities or thinking you need more to say at interview, this helpful wrap up from Pearson College London sets out how to look for opportunities and approach your job hunt.

Mayor’s Construction Academy (MCA) Programme

The MCA programme aims to boost the number of skilled workers and opportunities in construction, particularly for women and those from black and ethnic minorities; provide more high-quality training and initiatives across the capital to give Londoners the skills needed to enter and progress in construction; increase collaboration in the sector, particularly between small and medium sized businesses and construction skills training providers; and, support the development of training provision for the construction of more prefabricated housing in London. There are nine hubs and you can find more detail on each of them here:

Transport for London:

When you think Transport for London (TfL), tubes, trains, trams and buses come to mind, but it is also behind a housing programme aiming to construct more than 10,000 new homes in London. The TfL MCA hub has three construction skills centres across the capital: in Brixton in south London, Earls Court, west London and working in partnership with the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) to create a new centre on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London. If students want to find out more about the exciting, ever-changing and rewarding opportunities in construction with TfL, they can register their interest here.

North and Central London MCA Hub:

The hub is being led by the London Borough of Camden, and builds on the successful work of the Kings Cross Construction Skills Centre. The hub covers the local authority areas of Camden, Islington, Brent, Hackney, Westminster and City of London and supports greater access to employment opportunities for residents, and for construction employers to draw on a wider talent pool. You can find out more here.

London South East Colleges Hub:

The hub operates across Bromley, Greenwich, Bexley and Lewisham. From the hub, students can access a free Career Coach link that can be used to browse possible career options and build a CV. This free to use tool can be accessed here. There are also a variety of events happening so if you are interested in attending an open day or want to keep an eye on other virtual events then head over to London South East Colleges, Lewisham College or Shooters Hill Sixth Form College.

Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge MCA Hub:

The hub operates across three London Boroughs in East London. Training partners include: The Adult College Barking, Barking & Dagenham College, New City College — Havering and The STC Group. All of the London boroughs involved have their own job brokerages which support local residents: Barking & Dagenham Job Shops, Havering Works and Work Redbridge. Each of these partners are well placed to support career development, no matter what stage in your career you are at.

ITV apprenticeships on offer at Skills London

London South Bank University MCA Hub:

The hub operates across Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark. They have partnered with Naturally Talented Me, an online portal which identifies attributes by answering some questions about hobbies. Natural attributes are then matched to suitable job roles helping students discover a career they may not have previously considered. They can give it a go for free here.

London Borough of Newham MCA Hub:

The London Borough of Newham is a very young borough with around 40% of the population 25 and under so its MCA, delivered through its Workplace service, is a great source of opportunities. Its network of training and education providers delivers a vast variety of accredited training from entry level through to level 6 qualifications and includes Newham College who are an MCA quality mark holder, Building Crafts College, Newvic (Newham 6^th Form College) and University of East London.

Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College MCA:

The College focuses on making sure its students leave job-ready. The hub has highlighted five reasons why construction could be a good option for future success. One: be free of debt: earn while you learn with a construction apprenticeship. Two: Pay days: skills command a good salary from a young age. Three: Up Up and away: you can take and use your skills anywhere in the country or the world. Four: Build a business: in construction starting your own business is a real prospect. Five: Leave your mark: what you create, what you make is down to you – it’s your legacy! To find out more, why not sign up to attend a virtual open day? Dates are continuously updated here.

You can get the skills to become one of the sought-after professions by taking a look at: Build Training, Harrow & Uxbridge colleges, MIT Skills, West London College and West Thames College. They all have friendly and helpful staff on hand to help you make the right choice for you.

College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (CONEL) MCA Hub:

The hub covers Barnet, City of London, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Newham, Islington, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Westminster. CONEL has a range of free full time and short construction-based courses and apprenticeships with many participants progressing to gain industry recognised qualifications. The college also provides Women Into Construction courses too. Advisors can also help students build the perfect CV, application and personal statement to help their ’employment pack’ stand out from the crowd, whether they are applying for university, an apprenticeship or other employment.

South London and Partners MCA Hub:

The hub operates across the six boroughs Croydon, Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth, bringing together construction employers and training organisations, to help people learn new skills and get jobs in construction. Partnering with South Thames College Group, Croydon College, Richmond College, the Training and Recruitment Partnership, Sutton and District Training, CALAT and Kingston University, the hub offers a broad range of training courses including basic construction skills, to help start the journey towards a career in construction, as well as traineeships, apprenticeships and degree courses in construction management and surveying. It also offers other full-time and part-time courses such as plumbing, bricklaying, carpentry and painting and decorating.

Getting to know Pearson College London

Pearson College London is a boutique institution offering a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, Degree Apprenticeships and short courses. Part of Pearson, a FTSE 100 company, it prides itself on offering a unique, supportive and close-knit environment, where everyone can succeed. We’re working with Pearson College London to share some of the content they have.

The Enterprise Festival

First to share is the Enterprise Festival, a series of virtual events hosted by Pearson Business School. This is the first year of the initiative, which will offer 10 free virtual events designed to help everyone from school students through to industry professionals. Take a look around and find support that ranges from networking through to starting your own business.

Attend an online open day

Next up is the College’s online open day, which offers insight into what it is like to study at Pearson College London, with the opportunity to attend subject talks, find out more about student life and meet those who studied at the College in the past and delve into their experience of joining the world of work. You can sign up to attend here.

Sign up

Interested in the Business School?

This video gives a deep dive into how the Business School works, its connections with industry and its dedication to bringing students into the world of business, making the most of its relationship with Pearson as a FTSE 100 company. Got a few questions? Why not see if they are answered by this quick fire video with the Student Experience Team.

Planning to go to university?

For any students thinking about how to manage the transition from school to university, there are some great tips from a current Pearson College London student in this blog. And here is a run down of another student’s top 10 experiences since joining the College, from meeting CEOs through to building a professional image – it is an inspiring read for anyone thinking of making an application.

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Insights into work, with Google

We’ve got some great career tips from Google employees, thanks to the short videos they made in partnership with Camden Council.

And that’s not all. We’ve partnered with Google’s Digital Garage to bring you two live streamed training events as part of their expert-backed online courses designed to grow your career or your business.

Click on the links to learn more and register for these free sessions: finding your career goals and building a CV & cover letter.

How do you decide what to do?

From the importance of discovering what you don’t like doing, to learning about different jobs’ responsibilities from your friends and older relatives, this video showcases some helpful tips from Google employees on exploring the options to find roles that suit you.

What have you learned from interviews?

Yes, even Google employees have faced some tough interviews! In this video, you can hear the Google team share their experiences of difficult (and funny) interviews and the importance of being yourself, asking questions, and letting your inner confidence shine through.

Where can your career take you?

Wondering what to expect from your career journey? According to these Google employees, you should expect the unexpected. In this video, the team shares the career journeys that have led them to their roles today. Key insights are to make yourself visible, be adaptable to change, and keep your options open.

What would you tell your 17 year old self?

From having more fun, to asking more questions, the Google team talks about the advice they’d give to their younger selves in this video. They discuss the importance of not comparing yourself to friends, not having everything planned out and searching for a role that fulfills you.

What do you wish you’d known when you started out?

In this video, the team at Google talk about the key values that have helped them build the careers they love. They talk about how helpful it is to get to know your colleagues, to not be afraid to ask for advice, and to be open to different routes to getting the skills you need.