Oxfordshire Careers Hub is made up of 58 schools and colleges from across the county, including mainstream secondary, special schools, alternative provision and further education colleges.

Oxfordshire Careers Hub is funded by OxLEP and the Careers & Enterprise Company to support schools and colleges to provide their students with a careers programme which enables them to make informed decisions about their best next step.

Businesses play a vital role in this by equipping future generations with the inspiration and skills they need for work, and there are numerous ways that you can support schools and students across the county. All opportunities below are relevant to all schools in the Hub, be that mainstream education, FE colleges, special schools or alternative provision. Please explore all the options below and get in touch to find our more information.

Working with Schools & Colleges

Oxfordshire Careers Hub Schools & Colleges

All schools and colleges in the Oxfordshire Careers Hub are supported by the Careers Hub Lead and one of our skilled Careers Hub Enterprise Co-ordinators, who will ensure that the school are kept informed, updated and engaged in order to provide a careers programme which supports all of their students.  

We currently have 58 schools and colleges in the Oxfordshire Careers Hub.

Volunteering Opportunities

Have you ever thought about how you could use your skills to support your local school or college? Perhaps you are keen to look at how you can support your local community whilst developing your own knowledge. 

See below information for 2 ways you can volunteer – either as an Enterprise Adviser or sign up to volunteer directly with schools with ‘Give an Hour’.

Enterprise Advisers

Enterprise Advisers are business volunteers that give their time to help schools and colleges careers leaders and senior leadership teams to ensure that their careers provision is relevant in supporting their students’ progression onto their next step.

Supported by an Oxfordshire Careers Hub Skills and Enterprise Coordinator you will: 

• Support the school or college’s Careers Leader and Senior Leadership team to develop and evaluate their careers plans 
• Utilise your networks to support careers and enterprise initiatives  
• Help to ensure that young people have a clear understanding of the careers landscape  
• Build your own network through being part of a 60+ strong community of Enterprise Advisers, from different industry sectors and professional backgrounds, working with schools and colleges across the county 
• Develop your knowledge of the education sector 

If you are interested in becoming an Enterprise Adviser you can find more details and sign up using the buttons below.

Give an Hour

Sharing industry knowledge and experience can make a difference to the options a young person considers for their career choice. 

Volunteering for careers and enterprise activities in schools and colleges can make a vital difference.  Businesses can give a young person an invaluable taste of the world of work and help them make informed career choices. Schools are often looking for volunteers to support a variety of activities, such as mock interview days, inspirational career talks and careers fairs.

You can view current opportunities below. If you can’t see anything suitable please get in touch as we are often aware of more opportunities to engage. 

Experience of the Workplace

Do you remember the first time you visited a business, perhaps it was on work experience? It might not have been relevant to what you are doing now, but it will have given you an insight into the working world and the skills you need.

Offering experience of the workplace to a young person can be beneficial to your business in a number of ways:

• Early access to a talent pool for recruitment into entry-level roles
• Increase diversity in your workforce by recruiting from new networks
• Increase brand visibility in the community
• A fresh perspective on your business
• An opportunity for members of your team to develop their management skills
• Help with workload or a specific busy project

   

Experiences of the workplace take many different forms. You could have an individual student spend a week in your business, or a group of students work on a project in your workplace for a day or two, or anything in between. There are however certain things that need to be in place to ensure that it’s really meaningful:

• You have thought about what the student/s are going to learn from the experience, considering their age and the needs of the student/s
• The student/s will meet a variety of people from your workplace, and experience a range of roles. Rotating around different areas of the business will enable them to expand their employability skills
• There needs to be extensive two-way interaction between the student/s and your employees
• The student/s should deliver a talk or produce a piece of work relevant to that workplace and receive feedback on it from the employer

   

Take the time to allow the student/s to reflect on their experiences, and give them feedback so that they can continue to grow and develop.

For more guidance and inspiration please visit The Careers & Enterprise resources directly here

Become a Careers Hub Cornerstone Employer

Each Careers Hub across the country has a group of Cornerstone Employers. They are employers that support world class career education in their local region.

Why would you become a Cornerstone Employer?

Cornerstone Employers tell us that getting involved in their local community through this programme does everything from making their recruitment more effective, to making their talent pipeline stronger, and ensuring their connection to local people is deeper. But more specifically, it can help your business to:

• Influence and inspire more young people to enter your industry, collaborate with like-minded businesses and have greater collective impact
• Build a diverse future talent pipeline and help to fill skills gaps
• Back social mobility in your local area by working with the Careers Hub to support those who face the most barriers to reach their potential when they leave education

   

   

What will you do as a Cornerstone Employer?

By working with Oxfordshire Careers Hub in this way, together we can deliver a number of benefits to both young people in the county, as well as your business and wider industry. Your involvement will include:

• Working with our team in the Oxfordshire Careers Hub and other employers to engage directly with schools and colleges in a joined up and supported way
• Inspire other businesses to join our mission to transform the lives of young people in Oxfordshire through sharing ‘what works’ and best practice examples