Today I was on duty on ‘Live Chat’, Dudley Connexions new online chat facility so you can type a question and get an almost immediate response. We started using this during the summer and at times those on duty – there’s always two of us on during the Live Chat sessions – were quite quiet. Now that term has started and we’ve been promoting this in schools and colleges the number of calls (as we call them) has risen dramatically.
Tuesday of last week was an example. Sitting as we do in our little Live Chat room we were sitting patiently for the now usual ‘ring, ring’ through the computers speakers. This gets the pulse racing and if one of us isn’t already dealing with a query it becomes a race to be the first to accept the ‘caller’. Yes, we are that eager to help!!
I took one call from a Year 11 pupil who was considering architecture as a future career so asked about which A levels were best to take. They also added that they knew that Graphics was a must. In my response I asked why they thought they needed Graphics and got the reply that they had been told this from another source. For those of you not familiar with the requirements to get onto a degree in architecture an ability to design is a must, however not all universities will ask for a subject in art & design or graphics so it is important to check these facts out. In this case I was able to refer the caller to www.ucas.com the website to find out which universities are offering which subjects and the requirements for them, plus much more.
We chatted about his desire to become an architect and was able to give him advice about choosing architecture. He then asked about local performing arts schools as he was also considering this as a future career. This led the conversation in a completely different direction. We talked about the contrast between these two careers, where his interest in performing came from, what type of performing arts he is interested in and gave advice about making this career a reality. Although there are no dedicated performing arts schools in the Dudley borough all our local colleges offer this as a subject and I encouraged him to visit these places on their Open events, which as it happens are advertised on our website. I was also able to point him towards a performing arts academy school newly opened in Birmingham and let him know when their Open event was.
With five minutes to go in the day’s session I asked if there was anything else I could help with. He typed ‘no’ and thanked me for the advice I had given.
The information and advice contained in the Connexions website is great but for that extra bit of help Live Chat can be the way to get an answer to a specific query, double check a careers fact or have a ‘conversation’ with an adviser if you are not sure what to do next. Live Chat is online Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1.30pm until 5.30pm.
