Careers

At Dubai College, we aim to inspire students with excitement about their future while empowering them to explore and pursue fulfilling career paths.

Career development is a lifelong journey. Through an outstanding, future-focused programme, we are committed to integrity, academic excellence, and personal growth. Our goal is to ensure every student is prepared for success by offering:

Informed Choices: We provide accessible, approachable, and effective careers education and guidance, helping students explore a wide range of future options.
Skill Development: Through innovative curriculum, co-curricular activities, and work experience, we help students develop the skills, confidence, and experience needed to thrive in the professional world.
Global Connections: We connect our students with employers, universities, and organizations at regional, national, and global levels, creating partnerships and opportunities that pave the way for diverse career paths.

Student Careers Education
Every student at Dubai College has access to high-quality careers education, guided by the eight Gatsby Benchmarks and the CDI Framework. We ensure that all students receive impartial and independent guidance, with information on a wide range of pathways, not just higher education.

Career Focus by Year Group:

Year 7: Introduction to careers, the world of work, and essential skills.
Year 8: Identifying skills and exploring career opportunities linked to specific subjects.
Year 9: Reflecting on personal interests and exploring potential career paths.
Year 10: Investigating higher education and post-16 opportunities aligned with personal interests.
Year 11: Exploring post-16 options and navigating the application process.
Year 12: Narrowing down post-18 pathways and completing work experience.
Year 13: Submitting applications and preparing for offers.

Work Experience

In today’s competitive job and education landscape, relevant work experience is increasingly seen as a crucial component of any strong application. When two candidates have equally impressive qualifications, it is often work experience that sets one apart. Recognizing this, many universities now include work experience years as part of their courses, with numerous graduates attributing their career success to these valuable placements.

Year 12 Work Experience Requirements

To help students gain this critical experience, all Year 12 students are required to complete at least one week of work experience. This can take place during half-term, winter, or spring breaks, but must be completed before the summer holidays. During this time, students will gain firsthand exposure to the workplace, reflecting on their learning and growth.

The objectives of the Year 12 work experience placement are to:

Provide students with insight into how businesses and industries function.
Highlight the relevance of school subjects in the professional world.
Build greater self-confidence and maturity.
Encourage students to find placements that align with their career interests, university goals, and A-Level subjects, boosting motivation and commitment.
Help students prepare strong personal statements for UCAS university applications or compelling CVs for the job market.

Finding Work Experience

Students are encouraged to independently seek out their own placements, offering them the full experience of applying to businesses and securing a position.

In addition to their independent searches, students are kept informed of new opportunities through the weekly Careers Bulletin and updates.

Meet the Careers & University Team

Aisling Connell

Titles: Head of Year 12, Teacher of History & Politics

Rachael Maguire

Titles: Deputy Head of Sixth Form (Y13), Teacher of English

Cliona McMenamin

Titles: Head of Careers, Teacher of Mathematics

Lesley Mories

Titles: Sixth Form Administrator

Ateka Tarajia

Titles: Head of Sixth Form & Teacher of Psychology, Politics & Social Studies

Jonathan Tate

Titles: Head of US College Counseling, Teacher of Art

"Work Experience matters—it not only builds professional skills but also enhances academic and career prospects."

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Lower School Careers

It is never too early to embark on your career discovery journey. With this in mind, we are further expanding our career provision for Lower School students.

Middle School Careers

We are dedicated to creating opportunities for our students to explore and discover careers. Our focus for middle school is to provide students with a wide range of opportunities in Year 10, which they can then use to narrow down their interests in Year 11 and beyond.

Useful Links for Students

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Useful Links for Parents