Careers education

The Dixons McMillan careers programme aims to provide all students with regular access to employers, expert guidance and workplace experiences to support students in making informed and educated decisions about their next steps. The careers programme is an integral element of the Dixons McMillan curriculum and careers information is interleaved with subject specific content.

Full details of our CEIAG offer, including a timetable of what is available through the year is available in the 'What to do - Careers' at the bottom of this page.

Our commitment to careers provision extends beyond the legal minimum entitlement for students and is underpinned by the Gatsby framework with a commitment to meeting all eight benchmarks.

The intended outcomes of the careers programme include, but are not limited to:

• Students will experience a wide range of visits, trips, tours and guest speakers to ensure they encounter a variety of businesses, employers and educators

• Students will undertake various work related experiences including virtual work experience

• Students will reflect upon and refine their aspirations through 1-2-1 advice and support

• Students will increase their knowledge of education, training and career opportunities

• Students will develop a career plan to help them achieve their sentence and realise their potential

For full details of our careers programme for the current academic year, download the ' Careers Policy' and long term plan document at the bottom of this page.

Resources for students

Prospects - Careers information and guidance – use this to find out more about different careers and what qualifications you would need.

Future Goals – this website uses Labour Market information, as well as employers and employees from local businesses to give an insight to employment opportunities within different sectors, including how the subjects you study link with future career options.

Amazing Apprenticeships – Apprenticeships explained – what are you looking for?

National Apprenticeship Service - search for apprenticeship vacancies or register for alerts and to apply.

BBC Bitesize - where could your favourite subject take you?

NCS - a chance to embark on exhilarating challenges, make your mark and build skills for work and life.

National Careers Service - a range of flexible contact channels - phone, email, webchat and SMS - providing information, advice and guidance relating to decisions on learning, training and work.

UCAS - online HE application system, information and guidance.

Success at School - explore Careers, employers, jobs, courses and advice.

Careermap - a magazine connecting students and their parents with helpful information about careers and qualifications, employability skills and CV writing.

Courses Online - guides covering what a role entails, the required qualifications, potential earnings etc.

Unifrog – Brings all of the available careers and labour market information into one single, impartial and user-friendly platform. It helps students to make the best choices and submit the strongest applications. All students have a unifrog profile and the use of this is embedded in our careers provision.

Speakers for Schools – A platform for Virtual Work Experience opportunities at any stage through the Academy. This is a fantastic resource to support our annual careers fairs in being able to have meaningful webinars with employers and businesses.

Resources for parents

Apprenticeship Service - October Parent Pack

Advice for Parents when helping Young People plan their future

Parents' Guide to Careers in Engineering

Student Finance - What Parents need to know

Higher Education Progression Partnership (HEPP) - resources for Student and Parents

Amazing Apprenticeships – Parents’ Pack

Resources for career and labour market Information

Future Goals – this website uses Labour Market information, as well as employers and employees from local businesses to give an insight to employment opportunities within different sectors in the Leeds City Region

iCould - Real stories to inspire your career

Nomis - official Labour Market Statistics

Office for National Statistics - Statistics about employment rates in a national picture.

Prospects - Careers information and guidance

Informed Choices - a Russell Group Guide to making decisions about post-16 education

What is an Apprenticeship?

Higher and Degree Apprenticeship listings for 2020 recruitment

Apprenticeships - infographic

A Level Explorer - see where your A level choices will take you

Higher Apprenticeships - infographic

Degree Apprenticeships - infographic

Which? University - search by university, by predicted grades and by category or use the A-level explorer tool.
Higher Education access for disabled and disadvantaged students

Unifrog – Brings all of the available careers and labour market information into one single, impartial and user-friendly platform.

Resources for staff Careers Leader – Kelly Jenkins
Kelly Jenkins is the Careers Leader in the academy and is responsible for the planning and delivery of the careers programme across all year groups. Please contact Kelly by email at kjenkins@dixonsma.com if you would like to get involved with facilitating or delivering any aspect of careers at Dixons McMillan or have any questions regarding the Career Policy.

Independent Careers Adviser
We engage with Aspire-igen (Opportunity Centre) who supply external Career Consultants to work with our students and initially explore students' current perceptions of future career supporting them through application processes and ensures they are taking the appropriate next steps into education, employment or suitable alternative using feedback from their grades and teachers: this is followed by an informative session of possible options and actions for students to undertake. Every student in Year 11 is entitled to an independent careers advice meeting. A summary of each interaction with the team at aspire-igen is shared with the Year 11 student on their UNIFROG account, with key next steps for the student to undertake.

Useful Links:

Future Goals – this website uses Labour Market information, as well as employers and employees from local businesses to give an insight to employment opportunities within different sectors, including how your subject links with a range of careers.

A Level Explorer - See where your A level choices will take you. Direct students here to support them to consider how they can use your subject in future career options.

Prospects - Careers information and guidance

BBC Bitesize - Where could your favourite subject take you?

Unifrog – Brings all of the available careers and labour market information into one single, impartial and user-friendly platform.

Information for employers

We are always looking to invite employers from different sectors to come in and work with our students. If you are interested in hearing more about the opportunities that you could get involved in, please get in touch with our careers leader at kjenkins@dixonsma.com

Dixons McMillan Destinations

We are committed to supporting all of our students, not only during their time with us at Dixons McMillan, but also in their Post-16 options and beyond. We are so fortunate that many of our previous students come back to Dixons McMillan to share their experiences of their next steps and this is an invaluable message for our current students. If you are an alumni of Dixons McMillan and would like to come back to share your story, please get in touch with Miss Jenkins by email at kjenkins@dixonsma.com we would love to hear from you and arrange for you to come back and speak to our current students.

Careers Education Review:

The careers education programme at Dixons McMillan Academy is constantly under review and refinement. A formal, annual review takes place each August when we publish the Careers policy which sets out the intended careers programme for the academic year ahead.

The next annual review is scheduled for August 2022.