Pupils from Calne’s Kingsbury Green Academy have been some of the first in the country to receive a qualification in recognition of their commitment and time spent as the school’s Careers Ambassadors.
14 Careers Ambassadors aged between 12 and 14 have been awarded their Bronze Achievement in their Careers Ambassadors programme and are now working towards their Silver award.
The Careers Ambassadors play a key role as the face of the school to local businesses and helping to shape the career development programme. They are the first port of call for local employers providing tours and an introduction to the school, as well as representing the school outside of the classroom and helping their peers navigate the decisions that influence their future careers.
The Careers Ambassadors were asked what they would like to personally achieve through their role and they unanimously requested that they were given the chance to achieve an external qualification in recognition of their work.
Kingsbury Green Academy then partnered with the careers platform Springpod to offer the ambassadors a place on their Careers Ambassador Programme. Across two years, pupils will achieve their Gold Achievement award, covering key skills including leadership, teamwork, event planning and careers guidance.
To ensure that the qualification is as relevant to the working world as possible, Kingsbury Green Academy also invited local employer and leading provider of fresh food Bakkavor to take part too. Based in Devizes, Bakkavor provides real-world examples to the Careers Ambassadors to support their learning and add an in-person training element to Springpod’s online training resources.
Cath Young, Careers Leader at Kingsbury Green Academy, commented, “Our Careers Ambassadors not only provide a valuable service to the school, but the programme also enables our Ambassadors to develop key skills that will be of use to them for many years to come and in their future careers too.
“When they told us that they wanted to achieve a qualification to recognise their commitment, we knew that the Springpod virtual training programme would be a great fit and that we could build on it with Bakkavor’s help to create a truly bespoke programme for them that gives them real-world experience too.”
Andy Dillow, Chief Operating Officer at Springpod, awarded the Careers Ambassadors with their Bronze achievement certificates. He said, “The Careers Ambassadors at Kingsbury Green Academy have embraced the programme and the school has really brought it to life by bringing in Bakkavor; it’s great to see what they’re achieving through it.
“Our virtual training and work experience programmes are designed to make it easier for students to try options from anywhere before they make the big decisions in their lives, and the real impact is through the resulting connections they make to schools, universities and companies.”
Bakkavor’s Early Careers Manager, Ashley Lidgate, added, “We are delighted to have partnered with Springpod and KGA to support the delivery of the Ambassador Training. At Bakkavor we have some really exciting roles and career paths that a lot of young people are unaware of so it has been great to see the students really engage with opportunities in the business and wider industry. We look forward to welcoming all the Ambassadors to site for a visit in June to continue their learning.”
Kingsbury Green Academy is part of the Ascend Learning Trust. For more information, visit www.kingsburygreenacademy.com