NRC offers special advice to students thanks to SACU

With A Level, GCSE and BTEC results all out next week, the pressure is on to make the right decision as courses start fill up and options begin to narrow.

Northern Regional College is the only Further Education College in Northern Ireland to use SACU, an independent and impartial source of careers information and online tools, to help students research their future career.

Julie Hemphill, Careers Advisor at the College, explained that SACU is linked to all Higher Education colleges and universities across the UK, making it easier and quicker to explore and compare available options.

“SACU is a fast, free and easy-to-use resource but, most importantly, it contains a wealth of data that is constantly being updated. It has all the information about courses, entry requirements, career opportunities, potential salary which allows students to make more direct comparisons between the courses they’re interested in.

“Nowadays there are so many different options and career opportunities that weren’t even heard off not so long ago. SACU will show what’s available and where it’s available so students can consider all their options and then make an informed choice,” she said.

“When students complete an online careers quiz with SACU, they get three personalised ‘clouds’ identifying course, career or apprenticeship options, each with a fascinating array of potential choices. By clicking on the interactive links, students can access additional information, such as entry requirements, where the course is offered, student progression and satisfaction, job roles, career opportunities and progression opportunities, as well as salary information.

Julie continued: “Some young people have very definite ideas about what they want to do and, while this can be great, most don’t. So, we encourage all our students to think outside the box a bit and not to rule anything out until they do a bit of research and investigate their options more.

“When students complete the SACU career quiz, they are often surprised at some of the suggested opportunities and hopefully, this will encourage them to explore what’s out there.”

SACU is an online careers advisory resource offering a helping hand into higher education, your chosen career or apprenticeship with direct access to entry requirements for UCAS degree courses and FE courses across the UK, career websites, as well as information on apprenticeships, job vacancies, careers and salary information.