Employability Coach (inc. work experience) Health, Care, Childcare and Science

Join Our Team as an Employability Coach and Empower Students for Success!

Are you passionate about helping students thrive and succeed in their future careers? Are you ready to make a lasting impact by connecting education with real-world work experiences? If so, we have the perfect opportunity for you!

At West Thames College, we believe in the power of work placements to transform students' lives. We are seeking a highly motivated and dynamic Employability Coach to join our dedicated team. If you are a proactive, innovative individual with a genuine desire to guide and support students in their journey towards professional excellence, we want to hear from you!

What you'll do:

Forge strong partnerships with local employers, cultivating an extensive network of industry contacts to ensure students have access to diverse and meaningful work experiences

Collaborate with curriculum departments to align work placement opportunities with educational and employment goals

Actively promote and prepare students for work placement opportunities to enhance their employability skills

Provide employer focused activities and events that encourages students to make informed choices and understand what they need to do to reach and succeed in their chosen career., To identify, secure, organise and monitor high quality, safe and appropriate work experience and placements for students within a relevant and realistic work settings. This includes the delivery of proactive and inspiring preparation sessions, work related activities and engagement with employers to help students prepare for work experience and reflect meaningfully on their skills, experiences and future choices.

Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to engage and inspire a diverse range of students, employers, and colleagues

Exceptional organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously

Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, to deliver engaging presentations and develop impactful resources

A proactive and creative mindset, constantly seeking new ways to improve and expand work placement opportunities, Please study the items in this person specification carefully and when completing your application form try to describe your knowledge, skills and experience in terms of those particular items:

1. Possess a level 3 qualification or higher in Information Advice and Guidance or in a relevant subject. The College will also consider substantive relevant experience in a similar role
2. A minimum of 4 GCSE including maths and English at grade C/4 or above (or equivalent)
3. Experience of delivering creative and engaging activities to support student engagement within an FE environment
4. Experience of developing successful links with employers
5. Experience of successfully developing or implementing work experience and employability skills in an organisation and understanding of external guidance and requirements for work experience/placements
6. Knowledge of the current job market and the issues around gaining paid employment.
7. Understanding the needs of diverse student groups, 16-18 relating to work experience, employability and finding/keeping paid employment.
8. Strong administration, planning and organisational skills and the ability to prioritise a varied workload to ensure that deadlines and targets are met and outputs are of the highest standards
9. Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to engage effectively and professionally with employers and other external stakeholders to build sustainable relationships
10. Good self-motivation, ability to work collaboratively and purposefully with others, use own initiative and work independently
11. High level of attention to detail, accuracy and responsibility for own work
12. Ability to motivate and inspire others; elicit cooperation and to be open and responsive to others
13. An ability to multi-task and work under pressure
14. IT literate with high-level word processing, database and spreadsheet skills with the ability and willingness to learn new IT skills
15. Be willing to undertake training and development as required within the role
16. An understanding of and commitment to Equal Opportunities and Safeguarding and how it relates to the work of this post

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme
Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

West Thames College is one of the most exciting and successful colleges of further and higher education in London and our vibrant campuses in Isleworth and Feltham have some of the best facilities in the country.

We have a reputation for giving excellent support to our diverse student population. Staff are well supported within a culture of continuous professional development and are encouraged to take on new and more senior roles within the college. Facilities across our campuses in Isleworth and Feltham are state-of-the art with good public transport links and free staff parking.

We are a values-based and highly inclusive college, serving a vibrant and diverse area, and making a positive contribution to wider social and economic agendas. We offer courses from pre-entry through to Higher Education, Apprenticeship and Traineeship programmes to meet the skills needs of our students aged 14 upwards.