Welcome to Start 

Start is a free and comprehensive digital platform, offering schools and colleges a single starting point to help simplify and improve careers guidance in schools. In this film, we hear from students and staff at Grace Academy Solihull about how Start helps them to prepare for future study and career choices. 

• Maybe you can't decide what to do in life? 
• Or you've got plans, but want  job hunting tips  to help you on your way? 
• Maybe you're thinking about GCSE options , or exams, or you're choosing between college/university and an apprenticeship? 

Explore all kinds of useful career resources plus hear stories from other people in amazing apprenticeships, graduate schemes and jobs all across the UK! 

If you're feeling stuck, or need help and advice, our Careers Help Zone  is just a click away.

If you would like to speak to our Recruitment Officer please click on this link or the link below.

Knowing how to get a job is not always easy if you have limited experience in the job market, but there are some things everyone can do to increase their chances.

1. Get networking. Many people find jobs from people they know rather than traditional means such as job adverts. Talk to family, friends and other people you know to find out where work might be on offer.
2. Attract employers. Rather than hunting down jobs, consider getting potential employers to come to you. Post your CV online and you could save yourself a lot of time and effort job hunting.
3. Target companies. Look at the organisations which might make a good employer and hone in on them. This may mean you only look at the big employers in your area or it might mean that you look into one sector only but on a nationwide basis.
4. Remain positive. We all get a few knock backs when looking for work. Don't take it personally if you are rejected or don't even get a response because it is probably not because of anything you have done wrong.
5. Find hidden vacancies. Many jobs can be landed before they are advertised if you can get in quickly. Look into internal recruitment and seek out word-of-mouth advice as good ways of getting your foot in the door early.
6. Knowing how to find a job is a skill in itself. Once you have been successful in landing a job, you will find that the process becomes easier if you ever find yourself looking for employment again.

After my exams, I knew I wanted to get into an apprenticeship allowing me to gain essential real life work experience while learning, which is invaluable. Researching my area of interest, I wanted something which suited and complimented my personal qualities. 

I had some awareness of working in an office environment which I enjoyed giving me a sense of direction as to the type of apprenticeship to apply for; I have exceptional interpersonal skills, I am Proactive, organised and able to work under pressure, while maintaining excellent attention to detail in addition to excellent communication skills demonstrating professionalism in all dealings, and the ability to work with confidential information which are the skills I apply and develop in my current role.   

I wanted an apprenticeship where I can use and improve the skills I have and acquire skills I wanted to gain.

In my current role as an HR administrator, a lot of which involves recruitment; I am on the career ladder, without having to go to university and paying tens of thousands of pounds to gain the

same skills that I am in my current role. 

My apprenticeship has provided me with excellent support and guidance with an incredible team where I am treated with respect, learning new skills and completing new tasks and with every additionally responsibility and training; I continuously receive feedback, progress reviews on what I have done well and how to improve from both my training provider, employer.

Within my apprenticeship, one of the vital things I have learnt is that there is a distinction between knowledge or even an idea and putting it in practice. My current apprenticeships role is making sure that I am 'job ready' for the position I have trained for. 

I am very excited about the future as I am confident that my training will lead to a well-established route into long-term employment. My employers have invested time and resources, and in turn, I know I must invest time and effort to work and study in my new career.

I am so grateful to be nominated for the BAME Apprenticeship Award, and winning this award would for me represents a recognition of the development and growth I have achieved since beginning my apprenticeship. 

The application process for this award was fulfilling in itself as it gave me the opportunity for self-reflection and internal dialogue where I was able to see the wealth of knowledge I have gained in the last six months through my apprenticeship the development of more extensive employability skills preparing me for a sustained career in human resources.

Sam's story

I became an apprentice for Mighty Men Of Valour on 24th September 2018. The whole reason I wanted to become an apprentice was so that I can gather experience as an admin as well as receiving a qualification. MMOV has been amazing to work within.

The first couple of months was for me to learn the ropes of the company as well as going to college on Tuesdays. It wasn’t stressful; however it did take me a while to adjust to working full time. 

Overtime, as college work became easier, MMOV was teaching me new things every day. For example; Safeguarding Training level 3 was offered to me alongside my colleagues. I will be doing Level 4 shortly. 

I really do enjoy my job role at MMOV, it is a very rewarding job because families that require support is receiving it. 

I am excited to be joining MMOV’s team full time.  

Dear Frederick,

I just want to say thank you for all the endless amount of skills I have learned.  I know when I first came for my interview I was very quiet (and still am) and inexperienced and you were hesitant to give me the role. So thank you so much for giving me a chance to prove that I could do it. 

Thank you for allowing me to make my own source of income and learn so many new things, such as DBS’s, recruiting staff, professionally talking on the phone etc. And thank you also for always allowing me to learn from my mistakes. 

I have enjoyed being in the office and also enjoyed learning from Shereen and Samantha as they are both so good at their jobs, and by just watching them I feel like that has also helped me with my own role in recruitment.  All these skills that I have learned in MMOV, I could have never learned at University, so maybe it was in God's plan that University did not work out for me and I ended up on the apprenticeship. 

Mighty Men of Valour is an amazing charity and I am so happy I got given a chance to be part of it.

Not only just recruitment... but my most eye opening role as a support worker. Having the experience to work with SEN children has been great, especially working with the young people, working with the children has opened my eyes to a complete different work field which is something I definitely could see myself doing as a career sometime in my future.

Thank you again for everything. 

Yours sincerely,

Celine Boreland