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About Us

FutureSmart Careers

"Our mission is to provide young people with the skills, knowledge and resources they need to make confident and informed choices about their futures and achieve their full potential."

At FutureSmart Careers, we pride ourselves on providing highly effective, impartial and inspirational careers guidance programmes to young people delivered by advisers that are qualified to Level 6 or Level 7 in careers guidance. 

We have built a strong track record of delivering services that are flexible, reactive and relevant to the unique needs of schools, students and their parents.

Our range of support services includes one to one guidance sessions, psychometric assessments and action plans as well as workshops, talks, online resources and regular newsletters.   

We are proud to have achieved the Matrix Standard and, as an affiliate member of the CDI (Career Development Institute), FutureSmart Careers is committed to the highest standards of professional conduct and service delivery.

We are also a Morrisby strategic partner and a recognised provider with the Careers and Enterprise Company. 

We use our specialist knowledge to work in partnership with schools to support the Gatsby process ensuring that the student journey remains at the centre of all that we do. To find out more about how we support meeting the Gatsby Benchmarks: Click here

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Testimonials

  • "I wanted to say a huge thank you for being a fundamental part of our Year 11 Futures Day. The workshops you delivered were engaging, inspiring, and motivating, and the feedback we’ve received from students has been excellent."

    ASK Delivery Event, Hertfordshire

  • "Thank you so much for the amazing support and help over the last few years, Alex, you and Vicky and the team have been so amazing and everything you do is incredibly appreciated!"

    Cathedral School, Llandaf

  • "The advisor was professional and approachable throughout the session, making parents feel comfortable to ask questions without judgement."  

    ASK Delivery Event, Devon

  • "It was amazing overall. Discussing my careers and my future. It was a good opportunity to speak to someone about my future."

    Year 11 student, Buxton School, Leytonstone

  • "Thank you to you and your team. Our students have raved about their appointments and it is apparent in the conversations that they felt comfortable enough to open up considerably. I am so impressed by the quality of the service you have provided."

    Assistant Headteacher, St Thomas the Apostle School and Sixth Form

  • “There are so many options and ways to get onto specific careers that I was unsure about beforehand. It's reassuring to know the amount of options.”

    Year 12 student, Torquay Girls Grammar School, Torquay

  • "Thank you so much for sharing the feedback with us and it is totally deserved! 

    We feel very fortunate to have such an amazing team working with and supporting our students."

    Careers Coordinator, Exmouth Community College

  • “I have a clearer idea on how to approach my A levels and university options.”

    Year 11 student, Christ’s School, Surrey

  • "The advisor following the session made herself available for parents to ask further questions, giving all adequate time to understand and absorb the information in relation to individuals circumstances."

    ASK Delivery Event, Devon

  • "Thank you for all the work that you and your team have done for our students this year."

    Careers Lead, Highworth Warneford School, Wiltshire

Latest Blog Posts

University Open Days in 2023/24

14th September 2023

 by Emma McGuinness (Level 7 careers advisor)

Since the end of the pandemic, many universities in the UK have reopened for in-person open days. However there are still opportunities for vitual events which can be more accessible for prospective students who are interested in universities that are further afield. 

What’s happening with open days in 2023/24? 

In-person open days are starting as soon as the 14th of September with Ulster University. There are a large amount of university open days being held in September and October as UCAS applications open. The deadline for Oxbridge and medicine applications for 2024 is the 16th of October 2023 so any applicants interested in Oxford or Cambridge should consider the 15th September open days. Medicine applicants should also consider checking OpenDays.com for open days being held before the 16th of October.

While the number of virtual events being held has decreased significantly, there are still options such as the London Metropolitan virutal event on September 26th. Leeds Arts virtual event on September 30th or University of Stirling virtual event on October 4th.

Most universities also host offer-holder days which are by invite only to those applicants who receive offers from the university. These tend to be held later in the year after universities release their offers to applicants and are a great way for prospective students to narrow down their choices.

What types of events are on offer? 

  1. In-person Open Days  

These events are held at the university in person, where prospective students can meet current students, department staff, get a tour of the campus and visit accommodation. These events usually provide the most in-depth and interactive experience.  

  1. Taster Days  

Taster Days - also sometimes referred to as Information Events or Subject/Course/Department Open Days -are either a full day or morning or afternoon session, giving students the opportunity to find out about the specific subject they are hoping to study with the chance to ask questions, meet students and talk to teaching staff.  These events are particularly useful to gain subject insights prior to writing personal statements and faculty staff may be able to provide guidance on what they are looking for.  Do ask! 

  1. In-person student-led campus tours.  

Here prospective applicants can look around the campus in person, guided by current students. These are a good way to find out what student life is really like and what the university offers beyond academic study. The downside is that tours usually don’t provide opportunities to visit specific departments or courses. 

  1. Offer holder days 

These invite-only events for students holding an offer from the university enable prospective students to take part in some course-specific activities and spend time with current students, leaders and faculty staff.  Another great opportunity to ask questions about the course, accommodation, scholarships and more. 

  1. Pre-recorded virtual events 

Recordings of previous open days which can be watched at any time are a very easy way to get a flavour of the university, although these don’t provide the opportunity to interact and ask questions. Recorded campus tours can also give a sense of the university campus and sometimes the wider location – city, town etc. 

  1. Live virtual Open days 

These online events usually happen in real-time and do give the opportunity to interact and ask questions.  

How to plan for Open Days and other university events? 

As each individual university could be offering a different combination of online or in-person events and, as these are likely to fall into fairly similar categories, but not always with the same name, some detective work may be required!  

OpenDays.com is a great place to find out what is on offer from universities this year and whether an event is in person or online. For taster days have a look at Uni Taster Days.  Individual university websites will have information and it’s a good idea to follow a university's Instagram, Twitter and Facebook feed for updates.  

Finally, to make the most of online or in-person events, it’s best to come well prepared. What Uni? and UCAS both have a useful series of articles as well some downloadable question lists for different areas of university life including accommodation, daily costs, societies, sports, course specifics and future career opportunities. 

Enjoy and make the most of it! 

 

 

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