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• careers adviser/personal adviser case study 3

careers adviser/personal adviser case study 3

This Case Study belongs to Careers adviser/personal adviser.

I started off as a youth worker through the Millennium Volunteers programme and then went on to work at a pupil referral unit for two years and careers advisory work was the next logical step up. During this time I had done an introductory youth work course and one of the facilitators mentioned that the Connexions service was being set up in Berkshire in the coming years so to keep an eye out for suitable work. This I did and was offered a job as an intensive personal adviser based on the strength of three years' experience in two quite difficult settings: the pupil referral unit and a youth centre working with some young people with entrenched issues who were really hard to reach. I feel I had the right mix of experience - youth work and work in the more formal educational setting of the pupil referral unit, predominantly with 15-17 year olds.

My tip for getting into careers advice work is to volunteer at a youth club or go to a volunteer agency that will put you in touch with suitable organisations and take any opportunities to shadow people in relevant work so you can talk about this experience at interview.

I didn’t have any qualifications beyond GCSE at the time but got the job based on my experience, and consequently one condition of employment was that I would take and successfully pass the Connexions Diploma. Once I had passed it I decided to do a two-year distance learning Diploma in Informal Education and Community studies with the YMCA. It was quite an intensive course which amongst other things taught me about values and being realistic, that you shouldn’t expect a young person to necessarily have the same set of values as yourself. Your job is to give a young person the tools they need and support them and you shouldn’t feel responsible if your intended outcome is not achieved. Other short courses I have taken at work include motivational interviewing, special educational needs training and substance-abuse awareness.

My current role is team leader for seven personal advisers, so I have a reduced case load of 15 young people which equates to one hour a week or so with each one. Full-time, intensive personal advisers normally have a caseload of 20-25. This caseload can include young people from each of my link schools, youngsters from the pupil referral unit, those in home education, school refusers and NEETs (young people not in education employment or training). I usually work with those in schools for six-eight months but can work for up to three years with NEET youngsters. The main aim is to help with the transition to suitable further education, employment or training. We work closely with the youth offending team and more so recently with Social Services.

I like the variety of my job - I can be in three or four different locations throughout the week. I enjoy working in different schools in their different cultures. Most importantly I enjoy working with young people and trying to secure a decent outcome for them or at least getting them to consider what they’re going to do and how they’re going to do it. They come in to the first session not saying a lot or not being very sure of themselves, and after I've worked with them they are able to complete an application form, hold a decent conversation, or go to a college interview . The best part of my job is seeing a young person’s confidence and self-esteem raised. That’s still the good bit - seeing the difference in somebody.

One of the things I don't enjoy about my job is having to input details of interventions with young people and figures on to a computer database on a monthly basis. We don’t carry laptops around with us so much of it all has to be done retrospectively. Therefore you need to have good time management skills.

I have recently been promoted to Team Leader after three and a half years in the job and am quite happy in this role for the time being.

Case Study sourced by of , 05 February 2008.