Once again the month of May has seen us launch around 100 dynamic Upper Sixth students into a world beyond Bablake, with just (!) the matter of a few A level exams to navigate before being accepted into Aston Martin, JCB, Nottingham Trent University and similar excellent companies and universities. Outstanding role models and brilliant young people!
ISSUE
15 – Friday 24 May 2019
25 PROFESSIONS UNDER THREAT
Nostradamus and Cassandra both had their struggles persuading people to believe their suggestions for the future Bablake’ s Careers Department Crystal Ball however would be very hesitant to produce a definitive list of jobs yet to be invented in the lifetime of our students or even confirm with certainty the demise of any current roles.
Dave Copeland though, writing for ‘Work and Money’, has no such qualms, suggesting with the advance of automation that routine jobs easily defined by a mathematical or logic equation will be threatened. Some of the professions he argues could be in decline are the following:
Mortgage Broker
Broadcaster
Middle Manager
IT Support
Floral Designer
Travel Agent
Data Entry Clerk
Fast Food Cook
Jeweller
Furniture Finisher
Detective
Print Binder & Finisher
Primary Care Physician
Bookkeeper (esp accounts/ audits)
Lawyer
Casino Cashier
Financial Planner
Postal Worker
Photo Processor
Telephone Switchboard Operator
Newspaper Reporter
Agricultural Worker
Textile Machine Worker
Routine Architect
Door-to-door Salesperson
While AI (Artificial Intelligence) may not fully replace many of the above, it is easy to see how day-to-day work will shift for all of them. The secret for our students is to ensure their skillsets are transferable and they are one stage ahead of technology!
See https://www.workandmoney.com/s/dying-professions-83f89af396e34d92 for the full article.
BEST IMPRESSIONS
The excellent LawCareers Net website recently featured an article offering 10 (sadly not 18!) tips on how to impress when shadowing for a day or longer, or working as an intern.
The following advice would most definitely transfer to almost every sector and is especially useful for our senior pupils who will be looking to impress employers very soon:
1 Be confident in your ability.
2 Dress the part.
3 Have the right attitude.
4 Ask questions.
5 Be professional in all social situations – events, breaks, small talk
6 Read a quality newspaper/ news forum.
7 Don’t name drop, but do network.
8 Enjoy the opportunity.
9 Analyse/ reflect on the experience.
10 Keep in touch – email/ write afterwards to thank everyone.
It is so important that students look carefully at the environment they experience, if fortunate enough to gain a placement. The exercise is just as much about you looking at the firm as it is them analysing you.
See www.lawcareers.net for more information.
18 REASONS WHY… COVENTRY UNIVERSITY
Dylan Cozens, regional recruitment manager for Coventry University and HELOA Midlands chair, kindly gave us 18 reasons why our local university would be a perfect fit for students:
1. One Main Campus. With over 30,000 students, Coventry University is one of the biggest universities in the UK, and it’s all on one city-centre campus.
2. The Best Student Experience. The university was awarded University of the Year for Student Experience for 2019, which means you’ll have the best experience if you choose Coventry.
3. High Ranking. The university is also ranked 13th in the 2019 Guardian League Table, ahead of many other top universities including those in the Russell Group.
4. Excellent Teaching and Learning. The university is ranked 2nd in the UK (1st for public universities) in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), which, alongside its Gold rating, demonstrates the high quality of teaching and learning that students experience.
5. Great Range of Student Accommodation. As a Bablake student, you can also experience living in student accommodation, all of which is within walking distance to the university.
6. Sandwich Year. Most courses at the university have an integrated sandwich year allowing you to either study or work abroad in your chosen field, all with no tuition fee for that year.
7. Flying Start. Coventry includes free essentials which are related to your course - including core textbooks, laptop, professional body membership, uniform and safety equipment – ensuring that you can start your course with no unexpected payments.
8. Alternative Learning with CU. CU Coventry, CU Scarborough and CU London are all part of the Coventry University Group and each offers a range of higher education courses, all taught flexibly with smaller class sizes than a traditional university.
9. Add+vantage. These are annual modules teaching a range of work experience/ career development activities. You can learn languages ranging from Mandarin to Portuguese, study how a business works in different parts of the world or work with companies such as Jaguar Land Rover, Enterprise-Rent-A-Car and Severn Trent Water for a unique industry insight into graduate recruitment.
10. Student Engagement Centre. Helping you throughout your studies at Coventry is the Student Engagement Centre, our dedicated support service for you as a student.
11. Getting You Employed. Each faculty has its own dedicated Employability and Placement Unit (EPU) where they work with you to secure your sandwich year university or employer, and help you find that dream job after graduating, ensuring you are global ready.
12. Innovative Courses. Coventry is one of the only universities in the UK to teach courses such as Ethical Hacking and Cyber Security, International Disaster Management, and Enterprise and Entrepreneurship, so we’re always sector leading with developing new and exciting courses.
13. Alison Gingell Building. Opened in early 2018 by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, this £59 million building houses our Health-based courses where students can learn to care for a patient at every stage of their healthcare experience; from paramedics arriving at their house and their subsequent ambulance journey, to their stay in hospital, through to their discharge and rehabilitation at home.
14. Disruptive Media Learning Lab. The third floor in the library is where you will find the DMLL which has study facilities that are a little bit different from your usual learning space, including a learning zone in the shape of an indoor ‘hill’, composed of a series of map-like contours extruding upwards. The lab also houses a u-shape stepped seating area covered in synthetic grass.
15. Trading Floor. The Faculty of Business and Law houses our mock trading floor which includes 44 dual screen Bloomberg terminals making it the biggest academic trading floor in Europe, showing you how to trade responsibly with the latest equipment.
16. TheHub One central point on campus with everything you need as a student including our brand new Courtyard cafe, world food outlets, a bar, a GP/ Medical Centre, hairdressers and more.
17. Commitment to Sustainability. The university has an edible garden in the middle of the campus which allows students to harvest the fruit when ripe and limits single-use plastics by offering discounts for students that use a refillable container. Students can also refill their water bottle for free at our hydration stations across campus.
18. City of Culture. Coventry is the UK City of Culture for 2021 so if you choose to study in Coventry you’ll be right in the heart of everything going on.
U17 WARKS CRICKETER VEDIKA MAKES AN IMPRESSION…
Lower Sixth student Vedika Bedi, who is representing Warwickshire CCC U17 and captaining Kenilworth Wardens U16s, wrote the following about her desire to be a role model for other young girls playing cricket:
'I started off watching my brother and other boys play and realised that, if I took on the sport, then I could become an inspiration to other people and spread awareness about closing the gender gap. I have developed by overcoming my fears, and training with other boys. This gave me immense confidence, as well as proving, not only to others but also to myself, that girls can do anything if they want to.'
Thank you to @kookaburracricketuk for reposting Bablake School’s Instgram post about Vedika’s achievements.
Two particular Bablake former pupils, who entered the legal profession, came to the notice of our Careers Department recently.
Michelle Adams (Class of 1996/ 2003 Leavers)
Michelle, Head of Real Estate Litigation at Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP in Birmingham, received news this month of her selection as the city’s Young Legal Professional of the Year. She has several years’ experience advising financial institutions, & retail, media and logistics clients in the management of their English and Welsh property portfolios, and also has a particular telecommunications specialism.
Saba Ghadimzadeh Leoni (Class of 1999/ 2006 Leavers).
Saba, who studied Law at King’s College (London) and the University of Paris I Panthéon Sorbonne, is now a legal counsel for FIFA, based in Switzerland. It is no surprise she is very busy in this role! School captain Kogulan Vipulan, who met Class of 1999 captain Saba at Bablake’s Class of 1999 Reunion, kindly sent this photograph of her business card
Michelle and Saba of course are just two of many Bablake students who are making a fantastic impression in their field.
To view or download a copy of this excellent publication, which we will feature in future newsletters, please register for free on: www.ratemyapprenticeship.co.uk. The pages advising how to ace every aspect of job applications at any age/ stage are particularly excellent in both content and clarity of design.
MOOC OF THE FORTNIGHT (15)
‘Music Psychology – Why Does ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ feel so good?’
Why does music make us feel things? Why do we feel things in the first place? What are emotions and moods, exactly? How do emotions work? What is it about music that makes us feel things? How do musicians set up expectations? Why should they make you expect anything? How do different expectations lead to emotions?
2-week course developed by Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
PUBLICATION OF THE FORTNIGHT
See https://issuu.com/chelseamagazines/docs/gu-gapril19 for the full magazine (Spring 2019).
EUC VISIT
3 of the European Universities Consortium’s 8 members, namely @EHLnews from Switzerland, Spain’s @ieuniversity and Trinity College, Dublin (@tcddublin), under the guidance of David Hawkins (@uniguydavid), joined us for an excellent breakfast workshop about studying abroad.
Students are urged to ask about the benefits this model of degree study offers, as there is much attention to employability included in the majority of courses.
See https://europeanuniversities.eu for more information.
THOUGHT OF THE FORTNIGHT
“From success, you learn absolutely nothing. From failure and setbacks, conclusions can be drawn. That goes for your private life as well as your career!”
NIKI
LAUDA, Formula 1 legend and 3 times world champion 1949- 2019 RIP
CAREERS FORUMS
COVENTRY BUILDING SOCIETY
See www.coventrycareers.co.uk for more info on opportunities/ work experience Old Wheat Brad McKenzie-Quinn (Product Analyst) who led the session with Alex Chinea (Talent Acquisition) is contactable via MGAW.
ARMY CAREERS AND BURSARIES https://www.army.mod.uk/careers/ has info on regular/ reserve army roles and bursaries.
UCAS DAY – L6
We will be tweeting 18 significant moments from the day via @bablakecareers
Congratulations to Neelam Marwaha on winning the ‘Employability Workshop’ prize – £10 Amazon gift certificate – for Professional Practice.
