At Kaplan, we believe education should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their background. But we recognise that opportunities in data, finance, and accounting apprenticeships aren’t as diverse as they could be.
This is why we’ve launched our career boost programme, a free initiative designed to support sixth-form and college students from underrepresented groups as they confidently take their next steps.
Here’s everything you need to know.
What is the career boost programme?
The career boost programme is a free toolkit and series of workshops to help students identify and pursue their career aspirations. Aligned with the Education Inspection Framework, it gives students essential tools, knowledge, and confidence to explore potential routes into their future careers.
We also ensure that the programme adapts to the unique needs of the schools, colleges, teachers, and students. Schools can choose which elements of the programme they’d like to run, and sessions can be delivered directly to students, teachers, or both.
What’s included in the programme?
The career boost programme is built around four key workshops:
- Routes into a career and introduction to apprenticeships: Covering the benefits of apprenticeships, role selection, and the application process.
- Business challenge simulation: Students take part in team activities to tackle real-world business challenges, followed by presentations of their findings.
- Employability masterclass: Focused on CV writing, elevator pitches, and personal branding to allow students to develop their CV with expert feedback.
- Preparing for assessment centres and interviews: This interactive session equips students with the skills and confidence to excel in interviews and assessment centres, addressing a key gap in existing career support.
We’ve also included resources to encourage conversations about career paths between students and their caregivers.
Uniquely customisable
No two schools or student groups are the same, and we understand this. Therefore, our programme offers:
- Adaptability and flexibility, including customisable timetables and adaptable delivery methods.
- Personalised consultations with career development heads to align our support with a school or college’s objectives.
- Seamless integration to augment the efforts already in place at an institution without increasing teaching workloads.
The programme in action
We recently visited St Thomas More Catholic School in Wolverhampton, where we delivered two days of workshops as part of their Year 12 work experience week.
As a result of our workshop, 100% of surveyed students reported that they:
- Learnt something valuable from the sessions, whether it was understanding how apprenticeships work or developing key employability skills.
- Plan to take further action to explore potential career paths, such as conducting additional research or focusing on specific skill development.
- Feel better equipped to make decisions about their future.
We also found that:
- The understanding of apprenticeships and their impact on future careers improved from 3.0 to 4.6 out of 5 by the end of the session.
- Students’ confidence in their CV writing and interview skills increased from 3.6 to 4.0 out of 5.
- Students felt more confident in their ability to make informed decisions about their futures, with average confidence increasing from 3.0 to 4.0 out of 5.
Teachers at the school also unanimously agreed that their students have a better understanding of apprenticeships and how they could influence their career, and that the workshop was valuable for the students.
The school shared their gratitude for the workshop:
“The facilitators were fantastic and the content was exactly what our students needed.”
“The sessions I observed were really useful and exactly what our students need. Please let me know if it’s possible for you to come back - we’d love to have the team in again.”
Why is Kaplan equipped to deliver the programme?
As a top-tier apprenticeship training provider, guiding over 11,000 apprentices each year, we are well-equipped to design and deliver learning that makes a meaningful impact. Our industry relationships also allow us to provide opportunities for students to hear directly from industry professionals and employers in high-growth sectors.
At Kaplan, we are committed to fostering enduring relationships with educational institutions to brighten the futures of learners everywhere.
Help us make a difference
Students from underrepresented groups often face barriers to accessing opportunities within key industries. By providing free resources and tailored career support, we’re helping to bridge this gap and equip the next generation with the tools needed to succeed.
If you’re part of a sixth form, college, school, community, or faith group that could benefit from our career boost programme, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact our team by emailing careeradvice@kaplan.co.uk, clearly stating that you are interested in the school outreach programme and see how we can help.