This year has been my first outside of formal education. From finishing secondary school and going to uni, I’m going to consider what lessons a dizzying year without being ‘taught’ is teaching me. ​

We hear from the team at Skills Builder Partnership about why strong skills are vital for effective communication and can help you guide your next career move.

I am here to settle the popular debate on whether work experience is important or not.

National Careers Week is here and so is Tiffany to tell you how to find the right career path for you.

After Green Careers Week last week, Minna Davies interviews Freddie Ireland.
 
Freddie is the Environmental Executive at Castle Rock Brewery, Nottingham, who tells Minna why having a Green Career is so important to him

This month our guest blog is Christine Kinnear, CEO of With Insight Education. She explains the benefits of finding and keeping the right mentor, and how they can be the key to how you can excel in your chosen field.

​Knowing how best to navigate a graduate job interview may be making you feel slightly anxious and apprehensive – especially when you’re unsure exactly what questions you’ll be asked. However, one of the most common during the process that frequently arises very early on is - "Can you talk me through your CV?" 

​It’s typically presumed that as soon as students have graduated and left their university life behind, they’re filled with excitement about what the ‘real world’ has in store for them. Yet, this isn’t the case for everyone. In fact, some new graduates find it extremely difficult to contemplate their life without the structured education they have always known and are anxious about what comes next. 

We’re constantly reminded about all the crazy things going on in the world – some of these things are good (new world records, Olympic athletes, world class musicians, scientists and creatives showcasing their skills and artistry) others are far from this reality (natural disasters, wars, horrific crimes and so on). Oftentimes it can feel difficult to navigate a world filled with so much darkness – sometimes you may even wonder if there’s any good left out there. I’m here to tell you that there is and that you can be a part of this. In previous posts I’ve touched on how acts of kindness can improve your wellbeing and outlook on life – today we’re going to look at this in more depth in the hopes that you’ll be able to make some positive change this summer. 

As you complete your studies and begin your career journey, one crucial tool that can really make a difference in your job search is your CV. Often overlooked, proofreading your CV is a critical step that can elevate your job application to the next level and help you really stand out amongst other candidates. In this blog, we’ll explore why proofreading your CV is crucial and how it can make a lasting impression on potential employers. So, let's dive in and discover how attention to detail in your CV can set you apart from the competition and increase your chances of landing you that dream job. 

​During your first graduate job, it’s natural to want to impress. However, you may be brimming with worry about what to expect on your first day. If you have not been in a professional workplace before, starting out with little experience in your sector can be terrifying. You have no idea what you’re supposed to be doing, how the industry works, and essentially, who your new colleagues are going to be. 

​Are you just months away from graduating and haven’t yet secured a graduate job? You aren’t alone. In fact, around 40% of students don’t even have a set career plan when they graduate.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably between 16 and 18 – still in school and are looking for ways to make a little bit of extra money on the side. Well, I was once in your shoes and it took me FOREVER to find a Saturday job (which I ultimately quit) and I’m going to tell you all about how I got it, what you need to prepare for and also why I left. So, buckle up and hang on tight!

Are you looking to travel the world, meet new people, and gain some valuable work experience? Look no further than the world of TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language).

What is employability? Well, break it down. Which two words can employability be split into? In the simplest sense it is your ability to be employed. The Oxford Dictionary definition of ability is ‘the fact that someone or something is able to do something;’. There are hundreds of different factors that make up this (and your unique) ability – far too many for me to list here – but that’s the point of this article. ​

Covid casts a long shadow over lives. As we are discovering, the condition can persist for months or, as we may yet discover, possibly years. It also casts a shadow of grief over those who have lost – or will lose – those they love. But even those who, thankfully, have never been infected may yet find their lives have been blighted for years or even decades by this pandemic’s other long-term wasting effects.
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The labour market has rarely looked worse for young people and emerging from education into a recession can handicap a whole career. At first there are no jobs and, by the time there are, there’s another generation coming into bloom, fresh out of school or university, unwilted by months or years of unemployment.

At Push we’re all about making the right choice about your future.

Don’t forget there’s so many different options for you right now, arguably more than any generation before you. It’s all about sitting down to think, how you learn best and what it is you want from life.

While some really specialised careers may have one particular pathway, such as obtaining a medical degree to become a doctor, it isn’t the case with a lot of careers now and some are opening their metaphorical doors to allow other routes into them that aren’t just university.

For example the College of Policing is now offering Police Constable degree apprenticeships. Meaning you can now get a degree in professional policing practice while getting paid and receiving the practical on-the-job training for the role eradicating the need to get involved with any of that pesky student finance stuff. Fantastic!

This summer is looking to be quite different to what we’re used to. Some lockdown restrictions are beginning to be lifted as we head back towards a bit of normality but things aren’t, and likely won’t be, the same as they were before.

Nonetheless there’s ways you can be using the summer to improve your skillset. ​

Wherever you are on your journey, whether you’re in Year 11 and starting to think about what lies ahead or in Year 13 with big decisions knocking at your door, it can be difficult to know what’s the right path for you.
 
Especially when there are so many options. We’re talking work, apprenticeships, uni, degree apprenticeships, diplomas, gap year and travel, volunteering, internships…
 
The list seems pretty endless, but that shouldn’t be a bad thing. There are so many different pathways out there that it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll find something perfect for you. 

​​Here at Push, we’re always the advocate for earning while learning - the idea of, if it’s right for you and your circumstances, you get ahead of the game with a part-time job.
 
This can be anything from office work to bartending to shelf stacking to running your own side hustle online empire.
 
Even if you’re not particularly tight for cash (though it’s quite the student stereotype, and who would turn down a rainy day fund?) it’s a great personal investment, in terms of gaining experience and having that X Factor to put on your CV or personal statement.
 
Not sure what we mean?

As we barrel towards the end of the year, you might start hearing the ‘I’ word thrown around quite a bit. If you’ve applied for uni and your top choices are interested in taking your application further, you’ll probably have admissions interviews coming up sooner than you’d like.
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Or maybe you’ve been applying for apprenticeship schemes or are starting to think about full time work. In which case interviews are pretty much a given.

But that’s okay. We know, not many of us can hand-on-heart say we enjoy being interviewed. Lots of people might go as far as to say they dread them. But with some solid prep work up your sleeve and the knowledge that interviews are a two-way street, you’ll quickly realise that they’re nowhere near as bad as the reputation they’ve gained.