National Careers Week 2024
This week, all pupils at Edge Grove have recognised National Careers Week 2024.
During their form times, pupils delved deeper into the concept of “jobs for the future.” They engaged in various skills tests to ascertain their strengths and determine the qualifications necessary to pursue their desired careers. In addition, they explored the impact of advancing technologies on current occupations and identified those projected to be in high demand by referencing the World Economic Forum’s ‘Top 10 Skills of the Future’ .The WEF has utilises data from platforms like LinkedIn to monitor the specialised skills required for the “jobs for the future’:
Their Executive Chairman states: “We have the tools at our disposal. The bounty of technological innovation which defines our current era can be leveraged to unleash human potential”
From just the conversations I’ve overheard around school, it seems we have aspiring F1 drivers, journalists, actors, bankers and entrepreneurs among us! If they didn’t get the chance to, please do encourage your child to explore the virtual careers fair provided by the government, which is still active until Monday: https://ncw2024.co.uk/
Year 8 Spotlight
As our Year 8 pupils embark on their final terms at Edge Grove, they dedicated this week’s PSHE session to evaluating their skill sets and crafting aspirational goals for their future careers. They engaged in various skills assessments and explored a variety of career opportunities available to them. Pupils researched the ‘jobs of the future,’ acknowledging how advancing technologies are reshaping certain professions while identifying those projected to be in high demand. Additionally, they reflected on the World Economic Forum’s ‘Top 10 skills of 2025’ to discern which ones are essential for their envisioned career paths.
Below, you’ll find the current aspirations of our wonderful Year 8 pupils:
| Tobi O | |
| ‘I live in a very competitive household where academics are at the forefront. Practicality and efficiency heavily influence my interests. Engineering has become a contender from my future career, particularly in utilising software. With the world seeing so many technological breakthroughs, online innovative technology is sure to revolutionise many professions through AI. Another ideal occupation of mine would involve aviation, one of my great passions, as well as transportation. As I’m still maturing, I have yet to settle on a definitive career path but have numerous ideas. I see myself pursuing qualifications in finance, engineering, and software coding. Of the Top 10 WEF Skills, I think I will need to develop design, programming, and critical thinking analysis.’ |
| Oliver C | |
| ‘I would like to be an entrepreneur. I think this job will fit me well because I am good at maths and numbers, which will help me with the money based side of the job. I am also very creative which will help me bring up new ideas for the business. I want a leadership role in the future where I manage people and help them to solve problems. I think my current role as head of Hedgerows will help develop these skills. To be an entrepreneur you need to be creative, you need good communication, leadership, financial skills and finally strategic thinking. I think I can develop all of these skills to become a successful entrepreneur. |
| Henry H | |
| ‘I want to become a football coach. The main skills I need to have are: good communication, leadership and understanding. I want training to be enjoyable by making creative drills and exercises. I would like to get the UEFA A License qualification as this is the highest practical coaching qualification available. The course is all about ensuring that coaches have all the knowledge that they need to be able to develop players, and also have an in-depth technical and tactical knowledge of the 11v11 game. Last term I was elected as football captain at Edge Grove so I feel I know how to help a team succeed.’ |
| Chase P | |
| ‘I think that I am going to work in the field of sports and leisure because I am good at explaining things to people and helping them through things that they do not understand. I love meeting new people and I am confident in crowds. I also see myself as a motivated person, I set my own personal goals and I am comfortable competing with people. I am a creative person and I enjoy coming up with new ways of doing things. I feel that the work in my role of house captain shows that I am a good leader and can cope well under pressure. |
| Isaac A | |
| ‘When I grow up I want to be a big time actor. I will need to work well in a cast and have innovative ideas about how to approach my character/role. I have to be prepared for not only the role but the life that comes with it. There will be people that will try and bring you down by saying mean and nasty comments just because they are not doing as well as you. Consequently, I must remain resilient and adaptable. For instance, if I am cast in a film abroad, such as in France, I must be willing to relocate temporarily and immerse myself in their culture and language. Currently, I am honing my skills as a Drama Scholar at Edge Grove.’ |
| Rahul J | |
| ‘I want to become a cricket manager. I really enjoy the sport of cricket and think I could thrive as being manager of a team. The key skills needed are: resilience, self management, working with people, leadership and analytical skills. Being the house captain for Churchills has already given me experience in leadership. Rahul Dravid, the current manager for the Indian cricket team, is my inspiration. To get a coaching job you need to have lengthy experience. Some coaching roles also require you to be a very good player, perhaps even first-class standard. Since I play cricket at school, train a lot and I’m joining Radlett Cricket Club, I feel my cricket skills will take me far in the future. In addition, there are some.’ |
| Aidan S | |
| ‘The career path I am most passionate about is entrepreneurship. I am a strong mathematician and have exceptional organisational abilities, which are essential qualities for running a successful business. Additionally, my creativity will enable me to generate innovative business ideas. While entrepreneurship typically does not require specific qualifications, studying business or economics at university could certainly enhance my chances of having success in this field. I believe that the top skills I will need for this endeavour, according to the World Economic Forum, include creativity, originality, analytical thinking, leadership, social influence, and problem-solving.’ |
| Dami B | |
| ‘I would like to be a footballer in my future career. I have been developing my football skills inside and outside of school for a number of years and feel that my fitness and teamwork skills are developing every week. I want to develop my skills of leadership to guide my team when we are losing and think my current role as head of house will help me with this. You don’t need any specific school qualifications to go pro but I will pursue a Sports GCSE .There are no set requirements but I’ll need a high level football playing skill and physical fitness.’ |
| Samiyar E | |
| ‘I would like to be in finance, business or be an entrepreneur. The skills required for these roles are: negotiation tactics, critical thinking, leadership, innovation and creativity. I believe I already possess independence and logical thinking so this will suit the industry well. Oral skills and negotiation are some skills I have been developing in recent years. This was evident in my performance in the oracy grand final. My former house captaincy also proved that I have the qualities of a leader. I would definitely like to incorporate IT or engineering into my business. The qualifications I will pursue at school are GCSEs and A Levels in maths and English literature. At university I hope to study economics and engineering’ |
| Ayaan A | |
‘I want to be a teacher. I like directing people and helping others learn. I have developed my skills here as the current Head of School at Edge Grove. Specifically, I want to be a maths teacher or a science teacher because those are the subjects I am most interested in. The qualifications I need are a minimum 4 on GCSEs to teach primary or a B in A-levels to teach secondary. I need a degree in teaching to get a high-paying job. The WEF skills I need are:
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| Karsten A | |
‘My dream job is to own my own car business. I would also be interested in becoming an F1 manager and would one day love to make my own car. The WEF skills I will need for this job are:
I don’t need any specific qualifications for my career but I would like to have A Levels in art, design and technology and business. I have already completed many projects in D.T. this year and I plan to develop those skills even further at my next school’ |
| Kamil I | |
| ‘I would like to become an entrepreneur. I am confident in creating a business that I will earn money for, using critical thinking and brainstorming on something that the world needs. Furthermore, I am quite skilled at voicing my ideas in a convincing manner to possible investors, and am good at learning languages to communicate with others. The skills needed to be an entrepreneur are: creativity, critical thinking, and leadership. I am developing my qualities as a leader in my role as Head of School. I would like to embark on a business or a finance degree to really become proficient in entrepreneurship.’ |
| Robert W | |
| ‘Although I’m not entirely sure on what I want to be when I grow up, I do have ambitions. For example I play rugby so I would like to play high level rugby for a good team. Alternatively, in the economic world of work I would like to attempt to be an entrepreneur to make something that is useful or creative and make money from it. To be an entrepreneur I will need to have a good understanding of business skills and learn more about money. I will have to learn about the basics of supply and demand. I will also have to learn more about investments and company valuation and how much you put into a company. The main WEF skills I will need are:
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Miss O’Sullivan
Head of PSHE
