This seminar will explore the circumstances which can influence and impact the career opportunities of young people whose families serve in the military. We will present the Thriving Lives Toolkit developed by the Service Children Progression Alliance (SCiP), which helps schools evaluate and improve their practice. We will also hear from expert careers practitioners working with this client group to ensure their novel experiences are recognised and valued.
The seminar will be held on the Zoom platform
Context
Young people whose parents/carers are in the military often experience exceptional life opportunities, but also systemic challenges linked to their families’ occupational commitments. There has in recent years been greater recognition that these can be impactful on young people’s lives, particularly their education, mental wellbeing and career choices.
Careers professionals have an important role to play in supporting young people’s transitions into and through education and work. To be effective with this it is helpful for careers practitioners to have an in-depth understanding of the context in which these young people are making their life choices. In this seminar we explore some of these issues and showcase some of the approaches that have been adopted to raise awareness about the specific needs of Service children.
Programme
There will be input sessions from the following:
Professor Siobhan Neary, Head of iCeGS and NICEC Fellow
Siobhan will Introduce the seminar with an overview and comment why this is an important topic for the careers sector.
Kath Lawrence, Service Children’s Progression Alliance, Head of Operations.
Kath manages the SCiP Alliance's programme of activity and leads the growth in scale and quality of support for Service children’s educational progression across the UK.
Alistair Ferrier, National Operations Executive with responsibility for Veterans and the Armed Forces Community
Alistair leads on the development of the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) service offer to the Armed Forces Community (AFC) and the wider partnership engagement across the Armed Forces sector.
Claudia Lusardi, Communications and Outreach Hub Manager for Study Higher, a Uni Connect local hub.
Claudia will speak about the work of the hub in relation to the needs of Service children.
Timetable
5.00 Siobhan Neary – Why this is an important topic for the careers sector
5.10 Kath Lawrence – Thriving lives for Service children- the context for young people in military families
5.30 Alistair Ferrier – Working with the AFC, establishing partnerships and developing practitioner knowledge and skills
5.50 Claudia Lusardi - the work of the hub in supporting schools and Service children.
6.00 Group discussions