At Northampton College, you'll have access to a wide range of careers support to help you plan your future. Our careers programme is designed around the eight Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance, making sure you receive high-quality advice and opportunities throughout your time with us.

Careers education is built into your course and includes meeting employers, exploring career options, gaining workplace experiences, and learning about university, apprenticeships and employment pathways. Our aim is to help you discover your strengths, raise your aspirations and make informed choices about your next steps.

Our Careers Vision Statement

“To ensure all our students are able to make confident, aspirational, and informed career decisions; develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to maximise their potential; and achieve success in the world of work.”

For more detailed information on our Careers provision, please refer to the Careers Policy, Programme Statement, Strategy and Calendar which can all be accessed via our Document Hub.

CAREERS GUIDANCE | DOCUMENT HUB

Careers Advice and Guidance

‘Futures’, our Careers service, is on hand to provide you with specialist support and guidance with career planning at every stage of your college journey.

Futures, our Careers service, is here to support you throughout your college journey. Our specialist team can help you explore your options, plan your next steps and make confident decisions about your future.

Every student has access to one-to-one careers guidance with our team of experienced advisers. Whether you’re considering university, an apprenticeship, further training or employment, we’ll help you understand your options, recognise your strengths and make informed choices that are right for you.

An accredited service  

Northampton College has Matrix accreditation; the unique quality standard for organisations to assess and measure their advice and support services and a benchmark for effectiveness and high standards. This ensures that the careers advice and guidance you receive will be impartial covering the full range of options to support your career planning.

The OFSTED inspection of Northampton College conducted in October 2024 highlighted the effective advice and guidance provided to students:

Students take part in weekly Progress and Support sessions covering a range of topics to help you make informed decisions about your education, career and future. The support you receive will be tailored to where you are in your college journey and what you need to succeed. Your Academic Coach will also meet with you regularly on a one-to-one basis. They’ll help you stay on track, talk through your goals and support you to plan your next steps.

If you’d benefit from more specialist careers guidance, our staff can refer you to the Futures team. You don’t have to wait for a referral, though – you can contact Futures at any time, whether you’re currently studying with us, preparing to join us or have already completed your studies.

What we offer

Students take part in weekly Progress and Support sessions covering a range of topics to help you make informed decisions about your education, career and future. The support you receive will be tailored to where you are in your college journey and what you need to succeed. Your Academic Coach will also meet with you regularly on a one-to-one basis. They’ll help you stay on track, talk through your goals and support you to plan your next steps.

If you’d benefit from more specialist careers guidance, our staff can refer you to the Futures team. You don’t have to wait for a referral, though – you can contact Futures at any time, whether you’re currently studying with us, preparing to join us or have already completed your studies.

• Advice and guidance for students

  You can speak to a Futures adviser if you would like in-depth advice and guidance tailored to your needs. This could be about course or career options, your university application, CV advice, or anything else related to your progression. Futures advisers will help you to explore the full range of options available and support you to make the right choice for you.

  At Booth Lane students can drop into the Futures room (E1.01) by the Lookout. At Lower Mounts and Daventry telephone appointments can be made by visiting Student Services.

  Students can also email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and an adviser will be in touch.

• Advice and guidance for the community

  Our Futures advisers are also available to provide advice and guidance within the local community and regularly visit local schools to speak to pupils about their options. Guidance sessions are available to book by calling the Enrolment Centre on 0300 123 2344 or using the live chat on the homepage. We also offer support to parents and carers of students; often arranging information sessions covering topics such as Higher Education and Student Finance.

  If you have a quick query, we may be able to answer your question via email - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

• Events and workshops

  We organise many events, including:

  • Careers fairs
  • Employer talks
  • Industry masterclasses
  • Guest lectures
  • Site visits
  • Workshops and webinars on careers, interviews, UCAS applications and more.

• Job searching

  Looking for a job, or volunteering opportunity? The Futures team is here to help. Our advisers can support you with every step from improving your CV and completing application forms to preparing for interviews.

  Understanding the job market can help you make informed choices about your future. We encourage you to explore up-to-date local and national labour market information (LMI) to discover where different careers could take you.

  You can access LMI and a wide range of careers information through Xello, our online careers platform, which is available to all students.

• Documents and resources

  The Futures SharePoint page provides links to resources, events, webinars and Futures information leaflets on a range of progression topics.

  Northampton College students can also access an extensive range of careers information in the libraries across all three campuses.

• Information for parents and carers

  We value the input of our students’ parents and carers with planning their next steps for progression. We are committed to providing a high standard of careers education and guidance to ensure that your child has the best possible start in their career.

  We will keep you informed of careers information with a termly email newsletter and will also contact you with information on sessions relevant to your child’s progression covering topics such as Applying to University and Student Finance.

  Parents and carers of students can contact the Futures Careers team by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

  If your child is at school and unsure about their options after Year 11 guidance sessions with the Futures team are available to book by calling the Enrolment Centre on 0300 123 2344 or using the live chat on the homepage.

  Our Careers Programme, Policy, Strategy and Calendar are available to view on the Document Hub and we welcome feedback on how we can improve these. If you would like to give feedback or are willing to be involved in and support our careers programme, please contact our Futures Team Leader Kirsty Lee - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

  PARENTS | NORTHAMPTON COLLEGE 

• Impact

  We are committed to continually improving our careers provision, regularly reviewing and developing our support to ensure it meets your needs and is inclusive and effective in preparing you for the future world of work.

  We use a range of information and feedback to measure its impact, including:

  1. Matrix Quality Standard re-evaluation and accreditation.

  2. Termly self-evaluation of how our Careers Programme and services meet the requirements of the Gatsby Benchmarks.

  3. Data of students accessing the services, resources and activities provided.

  4. Student voice - student feedback on Careers activities

  5. Feedback from students, parents and carers, employers and staff

  Our Careers team work closely with the South Midlands Careers Hub. This is an external organisation that supports us to develop and strengthen our careers education strategy across the whole college.

• Review

  Our Careers Programme is reviewed annually with feedback from students, parents and carers, staff, employers and our Careers Governor. Progress reports on the Careers Programme are presented twice each academic year to the Senior Leadership Team through the Curriculum Quality and Student Experience meetings. These reports provide an opportunity to review the delivery, effectiveness and impact of our careers provision across the College.

Contact us

We welcome student feedback on our Careers provision, to enable us to make improvements tailored to the needs of our students. Please contact us to share your thoughts: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

• Mark Owen, Assistant Principal - Student Services, Safeguarding & Careers
  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 01604 734015
• Kirsty Lee, Careers Education and Guidance Coordinator
  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 01604 734030