Pathways sponsored by Virgin Media 06/03/14

Careers with Virgin Media

In a digital world that provides us with so much choice at the click of a mouse it is important not just to search careers advice but to actually find answers. That's why Virgin Media are proud to support LifeSkills National Careers Week 2014. As a provider of career pathways from work experience, internships, graduate scheme and traineeships through to our award winning apprenticeship program, we believe that the investment in our people will continue to drive our business forward. It's important to celebrate the fact that we are all different and acknowledge that there is not just one right way to start your career but that it is more important to find the right way for you.

Virgin Media provides broadband, TV, mobile and home phone services to some of the happiest customers in the UK. We believe in fantastic products and amazing service - all provided by great people. And that's where you come in.

We want all of our people to love their work, to feel valued and be inspired. So what does that mean for you? Plenty! The freedom to do more for customers. The time to take care of the fine details. The scope to think of new and better ways to do things. The room to balance work with the rest of your life. The perfect place to build a career. And that's just for starters.

Great people doing great work deserve great benefits. That's why we give our people the recognition and rewards they deserve for the hard work they do. So join us and you'll enjoy a variety of benefits, including a generous holiday allowance, contributory pension scheme and, of course, discounts on mobile, broadband and cable services.

Virgin Media Apprenticeships Scheme | Virgin Media Careers Zone

The LifeSkills National Careers Week Digital Guide is out now!

The LifeSkills National Careers Week Digital Guide has now been published. Featuring articles by O2, Sky, LifeSkills, Virgin Media, NHS Careers and much more. To view, click here LifeSkills National Careers Week 2014 Digital Guide.

Did you know that Issuu has an app where you can view our Digital Guide on your Android smartphone/tablet? Click here to download the app.

New resources on our website!

We have lots of new resources on our new look website to help you support your involvement with LifeSkills National Careers Week 2014.

17 Regional Ambassadors sharing their campaigns for NCW 2014

A Careers Zone with even more employer opportunities on Future Jobs

The NEW official NCW Digital Guide

Download our official NCW Posters

Download our NCW Tips Sheet

Download 5 Employability Cards

Watch our 25 Job Profile Films

Watch our NCW Promo Film & Advice Tips

Read our NCW Tumblr, featuring articles by one of our Regional Ambassadors Lynda Dixon and Pitman Training

 What to do next?

If you haven't already - sign-up here. It takes 2 minutes and then we can shout about you and your establishment.

Please share this with colleagues, friends, PTAs and employer stakeholders wherever you are. The more we work together the better the future for our youth.

Follow us on our social media networks to keep up to date with the latest news and resources.

Careers Zone's Latest Clients

To help provide information on a wide array of career offerings and pathways we have some great new supporters of LifeSkills National Careers Week 2014:

LifeSkills

GSK

Creative Pioneers

Taste Success

The Institute of the Motor Industry

Virgin Media

GoThinkBig (O2)

Freshfields

Careers in Racing

Careers that Move

Sky

Hospitality Guild

NHS Careers

BDO

Gap Medics

ACCA

HSS Hire

Milkround

EY

Skills for Care

Nestle

A recent report claimed that 37% of young people look to television programmes and 8% to celebrities for their careers guidance*, quite shocking stats when you really think about what is being said here; we can soon begin to build a picture which allows it to becomes clear why there is an ongoing cause for concern as to whether or not the career advice, help and support young people require to make sound and apt decisions about their careers is actually available.

Due to a reworking of the careers advice system a couple of years ago, responsibility was placed more so on schools to deliver impartial career information, support and guidance to their pupils. But, with research confirming only one in three teachers are confident they are providing legally required careers advice, there is great cause for concern for the younger generation.

If you are at the stage in life where it’s time to make some important decisions about your career, it’s extremely important you acquire the advice and support you need to make informed decisions which effectively will shape your future.

Many know from a young age what they want to be, but for many of us, this does change over the years as we begin to build our personal traits, different perspectives and outlooks. Although there are lots of people who start off in a certain profession and then change career to something completely different for a number of different reasons, its best to try and get a firm grasp of what you are good at or what you enjoy, what skills you have and a profession which will best suit your character, early on. Considering you will spend a huge percentage of your adult life working, we cannot undermine how important the decisions you make now are when it comes to your career.

There is currently an ongoing debate on whether or not there is sufficient career advice and support which young education leavers require in order to make sound and apt decisions when considering the world of employment and what career paths are available. But, with initiatives such as National Careers Week #NCW2014 and Skills London, it is becoming evident that more resources are being set up as an obligation to help give you the advice and information you need to get to where you want to go in your career, and if you’re unsure – don’t worry, there are tools, such as The Pitman Training Career MOT, and opportunities to gain experience on the job with the rise in apprenticeships to help you figure things out and make informed decisions.

The Career MOT is a fun, free app which was developed to help inspire those unhappy in their current occupations, confused as to what roles to apply for, those returning to work, leaving school, college or university and those that would like to take their career to the next level, but unsure of what that role would be. The app aims to help you identify your key skills and character traits and show how these can help launch you into perfectly suited careers, and advise you on some of the paths you can follow to get there.

After creating your own personal avatar in the Career MOT app you then take a quick psychometric test to identify which skills of your character traits feed into your most suited careers and how your personal strengths could help you excel in certain roles and how your existing skills could already open doors to new opportunities.

Telling you if you’re an ENTJ (Extraverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging) personality, or perhaps a INTP (Introverted Intuitive Thinking Perceiving) personality, the Career MOT offers personal results that best match your temperament to careers and traits.

Even if you know what you want to do career wise and how to get there, it may be interesting to still have a go the app and see your results – would they suggest a different direction? They may confirm that you are choosing the right career for you, and we’re sure you’ll agree it’s always nice to have a bit of reassurance.

All in all, although it can seem quite daunting you’re at a very exciting stage - Choosing your career, or working out what you want to do and how to get there. Consider your personality alongside work related strengths, to help highlight how your character will be one of our biggest assets in your careers. With this in mind you’ll hopefully be one step closer to determining the right choices for your career.