DCG Launches Online Careers Advice and Guidance

Young people and adults who are unsure of their next steps can now contact the @derbycollege careers team via a virtual chat room for impartial advice and guidance.

The careers chatroom will be open Monday to Thursday between 2pm and 4pm with advisors available to discuss a wide range of options including further and higher education courses, including the new T Level programmes, best suited to certain careers and pathways for those people facing career changes.

DCG’s careers guidance services team manager Katie Seymour-Smith explained: “In these uncertain times job prospects and security have come into sharper focus.

“It is therefore vital that young people and adults alike clearly focus on what skills and qualifications they will need to achieve their career goals.

“We tested having careers advice available at DCG’s first virtual open days and the response from the hundreds of young people who joined was very positive.

“This will therefore be available four days a week for school leavers or existing students looking to progress in further education, apprenticeships or higher education.

“We also expect there to be high demand from those whose jobs are at risk now and potentially in the future due to the economic effects of the pandemic.

“This will often require adults to re-train and upskill so it is important that they have access to information about all the options available to them.

“As a college, we have a clear message that education is about careers not courses.

“Our goal is therefore to help visitors to the chatroom explore all the options available to them and to recognise that the choices they make now will be important for their careers in the future.

No appointment is necessary to join the careers chatroom, simply visit www.derby-college.ac.uk Monday to Thursday between 2pm and 4pm and a live chat button will appear on the home page.

DCG’s Inclusion team is also offering a live online chat facility for those needing advice and guidance about support available for students with special educational needs.

The team will be available Monday to Thursday between 2pm and 4pm until July 3 and then by appointment over the summer.

Advice and guidance is available for prospective students and apprentices, returning students, parents and carers, SENCOs, staff from feeder schools and Local Authority SEN advisors.

Head of Inclusion Sarah Le-Good explained: “Moving to College can be a challenging time, especially for students with inclusion needs and their families. The team is therefore on hand for advice to ensure support is available across our college community.

“We will be focussing on explaining how support works at DCG and how we will be working with students and apprentices in both virtual and face to face learning from September onwards.”

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