Uptree

Good career guidance is essential for social mobility: to make educated decisions on their future, young people need to be aware of all the options. For young people lacking strong social capital, the future can often seem limited to what they know.

At Uptree, we are dedicated to working with schools and colleges, supporting their students to gain the careers support they need to thrive as they bridge the gap between education and employment. Our programme has been designed to assist careers leads in meeting the eight Gatsby Benchmarks.

Developed by Sir John Holman on behalf of the Gatsby Foundation, the Gatsby Benchmarks serve as a framework for improving career services. They have been adopted as part of the Government's Careers Strategy and statutory guidelines for schools and colleges.

A stable careers programme

The Uptree School partnership gives schools access to a complete careers programme.

“Our students now have a better idea of what paths they want to take in their future. They got an insight into different jobs that they had never even heard of before.” Anne Sparkes, Assistant Principal, Sacred Hearth Catholic School

Learn more and apply for your careers programme by contacting the Education Team through educationteam@uptree.co.

Learning from career and labour market information

At Uptree we collaborate with leading companies in a broad range of sectors, including law, finance, technology and much more. Through our online courses, Workshops and events we provide tomorrow’s workforce with up-to-date labour market information so that they can find their way into their future professions.

Addressing the needs of each pupil

Young people apply to our Work Experience Days based on their interests and careers needs. We know that not every student will be interested in a career in law, so we don’t expect whole classes to attend.

We can also work with teachers and careers leads to adjust our in-school Workshops and Assemblies to meet specific student needs - whether that’s improving their knowledge on apprenticeships or trying to hone their interview skills.

Young people can also access our Resource Hub, to gain help in the areas they need.

Linking curriculum learning to careers

Our Workshops provide young people with all the information they need to be career ready, including entry-level jobs, apprenticeships, salary expectations and much more. Our Workshops are based around curriculum subjects, so young people can see more clearly where their qualifications will take them.

Our online courses highlight the key transferable skills young people are developing, such as communication, decision making and resilience, and how they’re vital in the world of work.

Encounters with employers and employees and experiences of workplaces

Uptree was founded on the principle that the more connections a young person builds, the more employable they become. Nearly a decade on, our Work Experience Days are still our flagship offer to young people and we continue to work hard to ensure that students have the opportunity to build relationships with employers and employees. This means no webinars and no over-crowded events - all attendees are guaranteed a conversation with an employer and are encouraged to ask questions and build their personal network.

Where possible, our Employer Partners offer site tours, whether that’s of a factory or an office block.

Encounters with further and higher education

Many of our Employer Partners offer apprenticeships, from level 3 (SCQF level 6) upwards, including degree apprenticeships. Through our Workshops, online courses and Work Experience Days, we give young people an insight into these alternative pathways.

Our Jobs and Placements board hosts a number of live roles which students might want to consider.

In addition, many of our Employer Partners run Application Masterclasses - workshop sessions designed to give students the skills and confidence to apply to their open roles with success.

Personal guidance

We know taking your next steps can be tricky. We offer 1-1 Support Calls to all young people in our network to talk to one of our Education Experts and gain feedback on their CV, job application or to get some pointers for interviews or assessment centres.

If you're a teacher or careers lead and you would like to know more about how we can help you and your students or are interested in booking an assembly with us, please get in touch with our Education Team: educationteam@uptree.co or check out our School Resource Hub for more information.