Decisions at 18 2011 - Advising the advisers: the right guidance at the right time29 March 2011 - 30 March 2011

Exhibition

We are delighted to present the exhibitors at Decisions at 18 2011:

 

The Association of Accounting Technicians

 

With 120,000 members worldwide, the AAT contributes at all levels of the global economy.  We award 90% of all vocational accounting qualifications and the AAT Accounting Qualification is the UK's most popular FE qualification at Level 4 and above.

Many of our learners already work in accountancy and wish to improve and consolidate their skills, while others wish to change career or work for themselves.  A further 10% of our students are aged under 18, choosing the AAT straight from school as an alternative to A-levels and/or a degree, and progressing directly to chartered study via our recognised progression route.

 

Babcock Lifeskills

 

Babcock International Group is the UK's largest training, employability and education support services provider, employing over 2400 skilled personnel to support 50 local authorities and over 500 schools. Babcock Lifeskills as part of this group, offers a wide range of online programs, guidance software, resources and consultancy to support the career decision process for young people and adults whether they are in education, employed, training or seeking employment.

Well known programs and resources include PathfinderLive, SkillCheckLive, OdysseyLive, CareersEtc, Careers Stuff, Jobfile and the Working In series.

 

Cascaid

CASCAiD is the UK's leading producer of careers information and guidance solutions. Owned by Loughborough University, we have over 40 years' experience of supporting people with their career options. 

Our range of products includes online resources for people of all ages and abilities, from our primary school product, Paws in Jobland, right through to UK's favourite product for adults, Adult Directions.  For secondary and further education Kudos provides a unique and personalised matching system to meet the needs of young people and advisers, whilst Careerscape can help with research in to issues around education, training and employment.  Kudos and Careerscape combined can provide a powerful package to help young people make informed and realistic decisions about their future options, including higher education courses.

CASCAiD products are used extensively throughout the UK by a wide range of organisations including:  Schools, Colleges, Universities, Connexions and Careers Services and those working in Adult Guidance to name but a few. For inspirational and innovative careers guidance products, please visit www.cascaid.co.uk.

 

Chemical Industries Association

The Chemical Industries Association (CIA) is the organisation that represents chemical and pharmaceutical businesses throughout the UK. Around 600,000 jobs depend on the chemical and pharmaceutical sector in the UK, the industry pays on average 40% more than other manufacturing sectors.  It is the UK's number one export sector in manufacturing and contributes £30million a day to the balance of payments.

The chemical industry is at the heart of manufacturing. It converts animal, vegetable and mineral raw materials into a host of products for use by both industrial and household consumers. Light weight and durable plastic materials help fuel efficiency in transport; insulation materials save energy in buildings; paints protect and extend the life of metal and timber; soap, shampoos and detergents keep us clean; disinfectants and pharmaceuticals safeguard our health. Computers and telecommunications systems could not function without essential chemicals.

 

CIMA

Time For business

CIMA is the only professional body that qualifies accountants solely for business, it's a proven path to fantastic career prospects and high earning potential. A CIMA qualification is highly regarded by leading organisations worldwide and could be your passport to global employability.

CIMA has taken the lead in developing the most relevant financial qualification for business today and is the preferred qualification of the world's top employers. 

We work in partnership with organisations around the world to encourage and develop the support they offer to our students. With over 4,500 CIMA Training Quality Partners, you can find companies that are committed to supporting you throughout your CIMA studies; many also have internships and placements.

The road to CIMA membership is open to all, regardless of your educational background. CIMA's flexible entry policy enables anyone with a passion to succeed in business the opportunity to study with CIMA.

Website: www.cimaglobal.com

De Montfort University

 

De Montfort University is one of the leading universities for professional and creative education. With a 100 year history beginning with the technical and art colleges, the university has a long history of working to meet the needs of industry and producing successful and highly employable graduates.

We aim to provide a creative and inspiring learning environment for our students, encouraging them to explore new ways of thinking, to be passionate about their studies and  aim high in their chosen career. Our high quality teaching underpinned by world-leading research and expert academics combine with world class facilities, close links with industry and placement and work experience opportunities to provide an environment where our students can excel.

Our excellent reputation for research was evidenced in the latest Research Assessment Exercise (2008) which rated more than half of our submissions as ‘world-leading' or ‘internationally excellent' and we boast 11 National Teacher Fellows among our academic staff, a title which acknowledges their exceptional qualities for teaching and supporting student learning.

Located at the heart of Leicester we are a community of more than 20,000 students and 2700 staff with £186 million of investment in the last ten years creating a modern and vibrant environment for study, work and play.

 

Degrees Ahead

 

Degrees Ahead is committed to increasing UK student mobility, the company recognises the benefits to students of studying overseas and strives to make it an accessible option for all UK students. 

Students can access free consultations, advice and application management to Australian Universities and selected European universities, offering degrees taught in English. Visit www.degreesahead.co.uk for degree listings in Europe and Australia.

As well as providing free services to UK students, Degrees Ahead is working with overseas universities to ensure that students get the required faculty information about degree programmes. This includes information on university status, specialist areas, Lecturer profiles, links with industry/business, internships, professional recognition and employment outcomes. Further profiled Australian University faculties view the Degrees Ahead e prospectus http://www.degreesahead.co.uk/eprospectus/ebrochure.html.

For further information or to invite a Degrees Ahead representative to your school contact Joanna@degreesahead.co.uk.

ECITB

 

The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) provides professional advice, information, skills development and qualifications to help individuals within engineering construction succeed in their chosen careers. Working closely with engineering construction industry employers, their training programmes and Vocational Qualifications guarantee competence in practical craft and technician occupations as well as the technical, management supervisory, design and project management skills.

ECITB has launched a new interactive online Career Progression Route Map tool, to make it easier for school- leavers and graduates to find rewarding jobs and manage their careers in the engineering construction industry. 

The engineering construction industry is critical to the country's economy and this tool has been designed to help get the right people into the right jobs with the right skills.

The launch of this new tool coincides with the completion of a massive overhaul of the qualifications and career paths in engineering construction.

From Apprentice to Managing Director, the new ECITB Career Progression Route Map (CPRM) will give school leavers, graduates and others looking for a career in the industry, a clear insight into the career paths available to them. The interactive tool provides detailed information on different roles, and the training and qualifications needed to enhance their careers, within the engineering construction industry.

 

Enterprise

Add an annual turnover of more than $12 billion to a rental and leasing fleet of over one million vehicles spread across some 7,600 locations worldwide and you get Enterprise Rent-A-Car - a business that's grown into the largest car rental company in North America and arguably, the world.

Something else is for certain too - and that's the fact that we owe our success to each and every one of our people, from senior managers to management trainees alike.

We firmly believe in empowering our people to make the decisions that will affect their work and their career. This philosophy, along with our unyielding commitment to customers, is what has made Enterprise a genuine success story and a truly special place to work.

Just imagine the possibilities that come with joining a huge, internationally successful company with a personal, entrepreneurial approach which allows individuals to stand out. Our secret lies in the fact that we're divided up into thousands of smaller, local businesses. So when you take one of our graduate trainee jobs, you'll be learning how to run the business yourself. And how many organisations with a $12 billion turnover can say that?

 

EON

E.ON is one of the UK's leading power and gas companies - generating and distributing electricity, and retailing power and gas - and is part of the E.ON group, one of the world's largest investor-owned power and gas companies. We employ more than 15,000 people in the UK and more than 88,000 worldwide.

We are always looking for talented individuals to join E.ON to help us deliver cleaner and better energy for our customers.  We're using our size and resources to tackle some of the energy industry's greatest challenges head-on. Like how we'll go about meeting tomorrow's energy demands in a sustainable way. Or how changes in technology will affect the way we work - from providing an even better service to ensuring that bills stay as affordable as possible.

 

Ernst & Young

Your head start to an amazing career

Ernst & Young is 144,000 people in 700 locations across 140 countries around the world. Our Advisory, Assurance, Corporate Finance and Tax teams work with some of the biggest and best-known names in business and industry to help them realise their full potential.  It takes ingenuity, creativity and hard work.

We're interested in your individual strengths and abilities, not just what you're studying. That's because the things that make you good at what you do, are the same things that will make you successful at work.

It's your career

The EY FastTracks programmes will help you discover from the inside what work and life is like at one of the world's leading professional services firms.  And because Ernst & Young do such varied work for companies around the world, this is the best place to get grips with business.

Join us

You can join one of the EY FastTracks programmes for sixth form students to help you get on track and secure a graduate job before your final year at university.

Find out more about the EY Degree, EY Scholarship and EY Insight Day at www.ey.com/uk/eyfasttracks

FDF

fdf is a national body that works with employers, employees and higher education providers to create and promote innovative work-based learning.

Decisions at 18 will see fdf showcasing its comprehensive suite of online IAG resources designed to support people wanting to engage in higher level workplace study. The free resources aim to inform and develop the knowledge of advisers about HE and new forms of flexible and work-based learning, such as Foundation degrees. They will support those advising and supporting learners in work in particular, as well as those engaged in workplace study. They include downloadable guides, case studies, interactive activities and answers to FAQs, providing a simple and digestible overview of work-based HE programmes as an option within the broader context of higher level learning.

 

Gapforce

With Gapforce you will enjoy the experience of a lifetime. We run projects in every tropical climate and more. Whatever you are into Gapforce is the company for you.

Whether you're looking for an extreme trek around the Himalayas, a marine project in the Bahamas, a medical placement, coaching sports in Ghana, Ski instructor training, or even jobs in Australia, Gapforce have experts in the field that will make your trip one to remember.

You can enjoy opportunities around the world including 'The Ultimate Gap Year' or even a "No cost gap year" where you gain paid employment to fund the whole trip.

With Gapforce you will have the most amazing, eventful, memorable, fulfilling and exciting time of your life; you'll never want to leave.

The brands in the Gapforce family are:

Greenforce: Global volunteering, Bahamas, Fiji, Tanzania, Ecuador

Trekforce: Extreme Jungle Expeditions, Belize, Borneo, Nepal

Skiforce: Ski and snowboard Instructor Training, Alps, Canada

Medforce: Medical placements abroad, India, Ecuador, South Africa

Sportforce: Sports Coaching Abroad, Ghana, South Africa, Ecuador, Egypt

Ozforce: Jobs, friends, fun and sun in Australia.

Make friends, make memories, make a difference, call Gapforce now to discuss your trip of a lifetime.

Interview Guru

Interview Guru, developed and presented by Professor Cary Cooper of Lancaster University, is an inspiring and effective way to sharpen up your interview skills. Our video-based online training programme talks your students through everything they should be thinking about as they count down toward any interview. Users can also take advantage of our extensive library of interview questions and see how candidates deal with common interview scenarios. We show techniques that can help your students make their mark and leave a strong, positive impression on the people they'll meet.

Central to Interview Guru is a video-based e-Learning programme. Carefully researched and brought to life by broadcast professionals, it offers a tried and tested learning system, featuring short videos, relevant background notes and optional multiple-choice quizzes. Also included are hours of regularly updated video interviews, news and downloadable resources.

Interview Guru's developers boast decades of experience in the field of interview techniques coaching. This experience includes workshops for job interviews and presentation skills development, as well as academic interview preparation. Members of the Interview Guru team are regular visitors to many top educational establishments in the UK and Europe.

 

Morrisby

Morrisby are suppliers and developers of psychometric tests used in career and education choice; also developers of websites used to support Careers Education Guidance - FastTomato, Prefinio, CourseFinder. More information can be found at www.morrisby.com.

 

Network Rail

 

The railway is vital to Britain's future economic success. That's why Network Rail manages more engineering projects and employs more specialists than other UK organisations. Their work programme for the next five years will have major benefits for the whole country.

Network Rail's award-winning architectural developments are helping to regenerate towns and businesses, and are connecting communities with new train lines - adding these to the 20,000 miles of rail, 2,515 stations, 40,000 viaducts, bridges and tunnels and 9,000 level crossings that we already look after.

Since Network Rail took over the network in October 2002, they've already helped trains run more punctually, safely and frequently than ever before. Network Rail has reduced costs by nearly a third, while running nearly 30% more trains each weekday.

Network Rail offers a full range of opportunities with development programmes specifically tailored to suit the needs of everyone from school leavers through graduates to experienced engineers. All the development programmes lead to nationally recognised qualifications.

 

OCR

 

OCR is one of the UK's leading awarding bodies.  Advice and Guidance is an area of learning to which we are already highly committed. In recent developments we have strengthened our existing suite further with three unique qualifications, developed with Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) and sector experts.  These competency based qualifications are suitable for a range of students from administrators to experienced advisors:

• Level 3 Award in Supporting Clients to Overcome Barriers to Learning and Work
• Level 4 Diploma in Career Information and Advice
• Level 6 Diploma in Career Guidance and Development

In another significant move, we have formed a partnership 'in principle' with the Institute of Career Guidance (ICG). From this exciting development, we will look to use the expertise of both parties to meet the needs of the career guidance sector, bringing immediate benefits for students.

 

Open University

The Open University's mission is to be open to people, places, methods and ideas.

We promote educational opportunity and social justice by providing high-quality university education to all who wish to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential.

Through academic research, pedagogic innovation and collaborative partnership we seek to be a world leader in the design, content and delivery of supported open learning.

The OU was founded to open up higher education to all, regardless of their circumstances or where they live. We have students of all ages and backgrounds: school students wanting experience of university-level study, school leavers who choose to begin their careers while they study for a degree, people wanting to develop or update their skills, or change career entirely, and retired people wanting to explore new interests and keep mentally active.

We are committed to promoting equal opportunities for all and we monitor ourselves to make sure we live up to our ideals.

We believe that it is the qualifications with which our students leave, rather than those with which they enter, that count.

Nearly all of our undergraduate courses have no formal entry requirements, either prior qualifications or experience. We allow people who have missed out on education to fulfil their potential and achieve a university-level qualification.

Because we are not a residential university and the vast majority of our students study part-time for a degree we don't appear in most league tables. However, since 2005 The Open University has consistently been voted by our students into the top three universities for student satisfaction, topping the chart on three occasions. In 2010 the OU achieved a satisfaction rating of 93 per cent.

Further information can be found at www.ope.ac.uk or by calling 0845 300 60 90

 

Proskills

Designed by employers for employers, Proskills, the Sector Skills Council for the process and manufacturing sector, has developed apprenticeships that are tailored to meet the needs of the process and manufacturing sector. These help improve the productivity and profitability as well as being a great way to fill skills gaps and ensure that future workforce   generations are equipped with the right skills and qualifications to meet current and future business needs.

 

Smaart Publishing

SMAART PUBLISHING - in this most challenging year for careers professionals and students alike, have utilized their wealth of experience in careers publishing to launch a groundbreaking digital range of student titles, using  the latest technology and incorporating animation, and video to inspire your students to activate the information required in these difficult times. Our most familiar titles  GET SMAART, SMAART TALENT, SMAART YOUNG ENGINEER and SMAART WOMEN talents titles are now being accessed by students nationwide via facebook and school intranets - if you would like your students to benefit from this exciting resource please come to our stand...or click here  http://getsmaart.com/national101/ to launch our latest edition
SMAART EVENTS We have also drawn from our most positive experiences in event attendance to launch an exciting formula and experience for young people in the form of SmaartSkills & Careers, the first of which  took pace at the iconic Wembley Stadium and was declared a resounding success by students and clients. If you would like your students to benefit from our upcoming events, which include SmaartSkills & Careers Manchester, Black History Live - Wembley Stadium, and the next SmaartSkills & Careers Wembley Stadium please register with us today. or please click on  http://www.smaartevents.com/

 

Teesside University

Teesside University is a modern university dedicated to delivering quality programmes of study that are academically stimulating and provide a solid basis for exciting and rewarding careers. There are currently around 24,000 students studying at Teesside on a range of full and part time courses, from diplomas and first degrees through to postgraduate qualifications. We have a large campus in Middlesbrough centre and are developing a second campus based in Darlington on the east coast main line. We have benefitted from investment of over £100m in recent years providing our students with a range of first class facilities.

 

University of Leicester

The University of Leicester is a leading UK university committed to international excellence through the creation of world-leading research and high quality, inspirational teaching. We are committed to being ‘elite not elitist'.

We think a university should be about empowering people to explore what they don't know; through passionate, dedicated teaching and innovative, world-changing research. By embracing the fact that we're all coming at it from a slightly different place, and that every journey is personal, we've managed to achieve some remarkable results in our time.

When we were named University of the Year for 2008/9 by the Times Higher Education, the judges applauded Leicester's very different approach, calling us "elite without being elitist".

What qualifies us as ‘elite'? Could it be our uniform top 20 ranking across the various national university guides published annually? Or our consistently excellent results in the National Student Survey? Or perhaps it's a commitment to these core values:

• An inclusive and accessible culture
• A personal, supportive experience for those who use our services
• A commitment to high quality, innovation and rigorous academic standards
• A belief that teaching and research are synergistic