AFK and National Careers Week 2023

At AFK we continuously support young people with autism or disabilities to secure paid employment that matches their career aspirations, but what about those young people still in education and not quite sure what they want to do when they leave or what career options are available to them?

National Careers Week is a dedicated week in the academic calendar that focuses on good careers guidance and our involvement was quite simply to ensure 60 SEND learners were given equal access and opportunities to meet some of the most forward thinking and inclusive employers who support our work and values.

Tuesday

On Tuesday Taylor Woodrow hosted a group of year 12 learners, who are currently on a construction course with Heathcote School and Science College, to their EcoPark, a waste-to-energy plant which burns waste from several London boroughs to provide electricity for the National Grid.

We were welcomed by Olubukola Olose, Taylor Woodrow’s Sustainability Manager, who provided the learners with their PPE and shared a history of the site and future developments, swiftly followed by a health and safety talk by one of our hosts, Fabio. Then it was on to a tour of the site to see what was happening and check out the various construction and trades to better understand the variety of roles available.

As we visited each area of the plant there were opportunities for the pupils and accompanying teaching staff to ask questions about life on a construction site, the benefits of working as part of a project and being outdoors as opposed to working in an office. It was very clear that the pupils really enjoyed the visit and Ben Abbott, Deputy Head Teacher, said that ‘several pupils were following up with apprenticeship applications and conversations as a result of the visit.’

Wednesday

On Wednesday we were welcomed by Arriva at their head offices in London where we had no less than 11 Arriva employers available to talk about their jobs and career paths which were varied, insightful and demonstrated a variety of ways in which you can achieve your work goal without attending university. The key message from every speaker was to find work that you love and enjoy rather than doing something that others’ think you should be doing.

The two enterprise themed activities for project management and procurement were skilfully delivered by Arriva’s staff and provided the students with an opportunity to problem solve and develop their negotiation skills.

Julia Gardiner, SENDco from Heathcote School said, ‘We really enjoyed our visit and we felt incredibly welcome. We were looked after very well and the needs of our pupils were well considered. It was such a treat for our group to be invited to such a lovely working environment and to have so much attention from the staff at the company. The activities were well thought out and I know that the pupils will remember todays experience and it will hopefully help them form ideas about their own future career pathway.’

Thursday & Friday

On Thursday and Friday we visited Ambitious College and The Courtyard School to deliver a presentation about the many different paid roles we have secured for young people over the years including roles in hospitality, retail, leisure and the services industry. We were most fortunate to be joined by Elijah, AFK alumni, who now works at Nandos.

Elijah spoke with passion about the support he received from his job coach at AFK, first day nerves and the comradery amongst his team at Nandos. At the end of both sessions, Elijah walked out taller and prouder of himself for presenting to a large audience and said, ‘I enjoyed speaking about my experience to other pupils. I am much happier and confident now and I honestly think work has helped me to get to where I am now.’

If you are an employer who would like to learn more about becoming a diverse and inclusive employer, let us help.