A range of guest speakers at HSDC Havant gave Social Science students the opportunity to learn more about eye-opening careers relating to their current studies.
Students were first greeted by Mental Health Nurse and Physiological Therapist Sam Boyes, who was able to give a detailed overview of his employment to date and how a keen interest in Psychology at college sparked such an intriguing career journey.
Sam, who currently works for italk, a therapy service within the NHS, detailed his employment history to students which included working at high-security psychiatric hospital Broadmoor and medium secure unit, Ravenswood House. This gave students a detailed understanding of the type of careers available that relate to their chosen subjects, particularly within Criminology and Psychology.
Sam, who has previously visited HSDC to present to students, explained his journey within the industry and his passion to want to help people whilst also discussing the risks he has faced in his career. Sam also credits his wealth of experience within different establishments, including secure hospitals alongside training and reflection sessions as helping him progress and succeed in his career to date.
A former student who has recently returned to work at HSDC Havant after completing a Forensic Sciences Degree from the University of Portsmouth said:
“It was great for Sam to return to the college to provide an insight into the role of a forensic nurse. When you think of criminology and forensic science, instinctively you would think of roles within the police, the criminal justice system, and crime scene investigation.
The students were able to make connections between these roles through the exploration of forensic nursing and understand how Sam’s role is quite important in establishing risk, treatment, and recidivism.”
This was then followed by a discussion led by four members of the Home Office who detailed the range of work they do, which included working with migrant crossings in small boats across the English Channel which is extremely challenging.
Alongside this, the team also explained the range of job roles within the Civil Service and different routes into the industry. This included Apprenticeships, which are a great way to start at entry level with the opportunity to progress, develop and upskill.
Mike Parker-Travers from the Home Office added:
“It is great to be able to spread the word about the Home Office. There are a lot of perceptions on what we do so it is good to be able to come in and give a detailed overview to the students and a further insight on the type of careers on offer within the Home Office and Civil Service.”
Criminology has grown to become one of the most popular subjects at HSDC Havant, with a significant year upon year increase in student numbers. Nikki McCarthy, Course Leader for the subject, firmly believes that it is important for our students to be well informed when it comes to their next steps, and that there is no better way to do this than meeting people from various job roles – some that they didn’t even know existed.
Nikki said:
“Opening doors and giving our students a vision for their future is a very important aspect of what we do. We are committed to developing connections with employers and introducing our students to previously unknown career paths, as well as the necessary information to get them to their dream role, whether that be employment straight after A Levels, completing Apprenticeships or getting a degree at university.”
The guest speakers attracted a large number of students to the Studio Theatre and it was great to see so many individuals from a range of courses engage with the speakers and ask a variety of questions which is a huge benefit to their current studies and future careers.
To find out more about the range of Social Science courses we have to offer, visit our course finder at hsdc.ac.uk.