Inspira has shared its knowledge online from its team of specialists by creating a guide to support anyone at any stage in their career for National Careers Week, 11-16 March.

We have put together its essential guide which covers transferrable skills, CV advice, interview guidance, an apprenticeship tool kit, and case studies from people that the charity have helped to build their careers.

Inspira Director, Sarah Harrington, said: “National Careers Week gives Inspira a chance to showcase the free professional careers advice and guidance that we have to help people develop the skills they need to secure better employment.

“We run a wide range of free courses to help people understand the careers available to them and how they can make the most of their transferrable skills to find employment through a career that they may not have realised is available to them.”

One of Inspira’s programmes is Launchpad – a career development service designed to help people aged 16-24 who are not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) achieve their professional goals.

Stevie Baty, Inspira Progression Coach, guides young people on the Launchpad programme. He worked with a teenager who was struggling with anxiety and a lack of motivation to find their dream job in the retail sector. He began by working on their CV, which helped the teenager to find work experience and their confidence grew. With further support from Stevie they were able to build on this experience to find a permanent, full-time position with a local retail employer. They described the Launchpad Programme as a turning point in their life.

Stevie said, “I really enjoy working with young people to help them on their career journey. Everyone is different, so it takes time to find out what motivates people and how best to help them by setting achievable goals.”

Ben came to Inspira to look for work in the hospitality sector after leaving college due to not securing the grades needed to progress. He realised after a trial in hospitality that it wasn’t the career path for him. He worked with Inspira to identify that he wanted to develop a career in early years education. Through Inspira’s support and guidance Ben secured a traineeship and placement in a local primary school, along with further support to complete his studies.

National Careers Week takes place on March 6-11, under the theme of ‘together’. The week will help to provide students with free careers advice and resources through partners such as organisations and businesses, who can advise on options for the future, and educators, to help deliver the message.

The Inspira National Careers Week guide 2023 is available here: https://www.inspira.org.uk/national-careers-week