Forum FAQs for careers advisors

How do I ask a question?

1. First of all, you need to be registered to ask a question. See the question below for details on how to sign up.
2. Go to Talk to Employers or Talk to HE. (You can access this again by going to Forums in the Students option in the main site menu, and then clicking on the relevant text underneath the Forums heading.)
3. Click the big red Ask question button.
4. In the Topic title box, give your question a title that summarises the topic e.g. "Apprenticeship applications at [employer name]", "Courses in astrophysics at [uni name]".
5. In the Description box, type out your question in full.
6. Hit Submit at the bottom to post your question.
7. From the Talk to Employers or Talk to HE page, you can view your posted question and any other comments by clicking the title in the list.
8. Click on the question and click the Watch Topic button at the top to get email alerts whenever someone replies. This could be the employer/university but also any other careers advisors or other users.

How do I register?

You need to register in order to ask a question:

1. Click the Register now link at the top right of the website.
2. Select Teacher / Careers Advisor from the pop-up list of options.
3. Fill in your details and click Register at the bottom.
4. You will receive a confirmation email to your inbox. Check your spam or junk folder if you don't see it.
5. Click the link in the confirmation email to verify your account and log in.
6. When you log in, you'll be taken to the dashboard. Follow the simple steps to finish setting up your account and ask a question.
7. Check out the instructions above (How do I ask a question?) if you're unsure of what to do.

Who is eligible?

As long as you're a member of staff with a school/college email address, you can register and participate in the forums.

If you work with schools/colleges and don’t have a school or college email address, simply ask a member of school/college staff to register - they will then be able to invite you to register.

Why do we do this?

Our forum is open to verified members, so we need to ensure that participants are verified members of staff, verified students or verified institutions.

When can I ask a question?

As soon as your registration is approved, you can ask general or specific questions of our employer panel.

We will be inviting our panel to respond in the second half of May, once there are plenty of questions in the forum.

If you started a thread, you’ll be notified by email when you receive an answer. If there is a thread or forum you want to follow, you can click the green "Watch" button at the top right, and you'll receive notifications when it's updated.

How do the forums work?

To make the most of the employers and universities in the forum, we suggest you keep asking questions to keep the conversation flowing.

We know you have many questions to ask, so please don’t be shy!

What can I ask? 

You can ask employers and universities any questions that will help you provide students with an insight into the employer's world of work, opportunities for school/college leavers, the application process, the different industries represented in the forum, and so on. The forum is there to give you and your students an informed perspective at the outset of their careers.

Here are some example questions you could ask employers:

• I have a number of students in applying for engineering apprentices. What are the different levels of apprenticeships on offer and who are they suitable for?
• Historically you had to go to university to do law. Can students enter law through other routes, such as apprenticeships?
• What’s the best way to find work experience in your sector?
• What’s the best way to relate finance [insert any other sector] to the curriculum?
• What skills do you expect school/college leavers or graduates to have when they apply for work at your company?
• Where is the best place to go to find out about school/college leaver opportunities at your company?
• What advice would you offer to students going to university to ensure they are well prepared for the job market when they graduate?

Some example questions for universities:

• Are you currently offering degree apprenticeships?
• What careers will the [subject name] course directly lead to?
• What provision is there for developing technical skills in your [course name] degree?
• What linkages do you have with employers to help equip students for the workplace when they graduate?
• How active is your careers service?
• Why should (and shouldn't) students do a degree in [subject name] instead of an apprenticeship in the same area?

Can students ask a question?

We're working to bring our employer and university forums to students in the near future.

Students can use our standard forums, where they can take part in discussions on a range of topics from apprenticeships and different industries to work experience, gap years and university. They can also comment on the articles on our site to share insights or experiences, as can any user signed up with an account!

If you have any further questions for us, please feel free to post below and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. Hit the "Watch" button at the top to get a notification when this thread is updated.