Pure Potential

PP: School Leavers Event - 20th February 2014

Thousands of students choose school leaver programmes over going to university each year. With many global companies hiring students straight from school and offering them a wealth of benefits, it’s really no surprise that school leaver programmes have significantly grown in popularity. Pure Potential works in partnership with leading school leaver providers and we are bringing employers and sixth formers together under one roof at our annual PP: School Leavers event in February.

If you are a savvy, career-minded student who wants to kick-start your career as soon as you leave school, then this event will provide you with the chance to network with leading employers, learn about the wealth of opportunities available, and receive insider tips on how to make a successful application.

Come to PP: School Leavers if you want to:

• Find out about entry requirements, salaries and qualifications
• Practise your interview and networking skills
• Learn how to make a competitive application
  
• Meet leading firms that offer school leaver programmes or apprenticeships
  

Last year, representatives from the accountancy, engineering, financial services, IT consultancy and retail management industries as well as Transport for London came to PP: School Leavers.

Here is a list of our exhibitors for 2014: ACCA, CILEx, EY, Grant Thornton, ICAEW, Laing O'Rourke, KPMG, Mazars and Milkround and more.

Event Information

• Date: Thursday, 20th February 2014
• Venue: King’s Cross, London
• Timings: Your choice of morning or afternoon session

Eligibility

In order to apply for the event you must:

• Attend a state school or college (non-fee paying)
• Be predicted a minimum of 280 UCAS points
• Be interested in school leaver programmes and apprenticeships

Book your place today

You can book your place by clicking here.

Book soon as places are limited. Parents and teachers are also welcome to join you. You can attend this event with a friend providing they meet the above criteria - please encourage them to complete on our online form too.

If you have any questions about the event then please contact Binda on 0207 122 1223. 

Posters

If you are a teacher and would like to promote the event to your students, please download our event flyer by clicking here.

Event Feedback

Here is some of the feedback from our events:

• 100% of students would recommend this event to other students
• 100% felt it would be an extremely useful event to run again for future students
• 89% of students who attended the event felt better-informed about school leaver programmes
• 87% felt this event raised the profile of school leaver programmes
• 92% of students benefited from meeting representatives from leading firms
  

• “Such a useful day, more students need to be aware of the alternatives to university.”
• “I found the event very useful and made me feel much more confident about my choice of not attending university.”
• “Very grateful to you for organising this event. Many thanks to everyone who helped make it happen.”
• “The programme definitely benefited me and corrected any misconceptions I had about school leaver programmes.”

Case Study

We met Stephanie at our 2012 PP: School Leavers event. She has gone on to achieve great things including securing a place on a school leaver programme at a leading financial firm - read her story below.

During Sixth Form I began thinking of what I wanted to do next; compulsory education was over and it was time for me to begin to make my own decisions. University seemed like the natural pathway since the majority of people my age seemed to be applying and my older siblings were both already studying for a degree. My Sixth Form had also been giving us information and advice about university so when UCAS applications opened I applied to a number of top universities to study Economics.

I greatly enjoy Economics as a subject and was excited about the prospect of studying it further. However I remained unsure about if university was the right thing for me. I spent a considerable amount of time exploring a number of alternatives to university, especially in light of the increase in tuition fees, and I was particularly struck by School Leaver Programmes. I discovered the programmes are offered in a range of subjects across a number of leading firms and are becoming ever more popular.

Reading more about the possible programmes I was excited by the prospect of gaining ‘hands on experience’ in a supportive environment, which would be well recognised in the evermore competitive job market. I was mainly interested in positions involving banking, tax, statistics... as this would give me a chance to further my economic knowledge by learning from the real economy. Going straight into work would give independence, the chance to study for professional qualifications and I would be earning rather than accumulating student debt!

I decided to apply for a position and whilst working through the different application stages I heard about Pure Potential events through my Careers Advisors at Sixth Form. I attended a day run by Pure Potential which was specifically for Sixth Formers where I learnt more about the different School Leavers programmes available and meet other people in a similar situation to myself. The best thing about the day in my opinion was the opportunity to network with representatives from companies such as EY, BDO, Santander... and ask questions about the opportunities they have available. The day also consisted of sessions focusing on how to approach the different stages of the application processes (application forms, competency questions, interviews...) and talks on writing CV’s and cover letters. The tips I received from these seminars gave me the confidence and determination to carry on submitting applications and to strive to perform to the best of my ability in every step faced while applying.

In September 2012 I began working at a leading financial firm after being successful in applying to their school leaver programme. I am greatly enjoying the role and am excited about all it entails over the coming years. I am now glad I decided against university and I am grateful to Pure Potential for the guidance they gave me which helped me to where I am today.