Skip to main content
Female one is sitting at a desk with a computer, next to a male and another female. Female one is looking into the camera smiling. Male one is looking at female ones screen and female two is looking down

Career progression

The courses we offer and the support services we provide are all geared towards boosting your job prospects and career progression.

Whether you’re leaving school or studying at advanced levels, or whether you want to change career or you’re returning to study after years away, improving your career prospects remains our focus.

If you are a student/parent of BDC already, you can access the most up to date information on Student Zone, on BDC Online.

Your study programme

Your entire study programme is really important as you’ll develop the skills, knowledge and experience to be able to progress. Whether this is to the next level of study, to an Apprenticeship, to Higher Education or into employment, your progress will improve your job prospects.

By studying English & Maths and gaining industry experience through work placements alongside your vocational course, you’ll be improving your employability and your chances for advancement.

Work and industry placements present a number of career-progression benefits. They help your personal growth, develop a self-reliance, encourage you to step out of your comfort zone, build confidence, and enable you to learn about yourself and identify your strengths and preferences for future career choices.

Work experience offers more direct career progression opportunities too. You’ll start making contacts and developing a network. You could even end up landing a full-time job or Apprenticeship through your employer!

Vocational courses

Our courses are vocational, meaning they are focused on preparing you for your chosen occupation.

They are also designed to help you develop ‘T-shaped’ skills. As well as building expertise in your chosen field via high-quality technical and professional training, it’s important you develop broader skills. These include confidence, self-belief, teamwork, resilience and communication. Employers look for T-shaped skills in candidates when they’re hiring.

You’ll have opportunities to develop T-shaped skills by presenting, entering competitions, and attending interview workshops and networking events with employers. On certain courses, you’ll get to work on ‘live’ briefs commissioned by employers looking for talented students to help with their projects. These opportunities provide industry knowledge, a chance to make contacts, give you something impressive to feature in your CV – and you could get paid for them too!

Helping you find work

Whether you’re looking for your first job or trying to change career, we provide the support to help you into employment.

Our Careers Advisers will provide CV support and help you with job search techniques and interview preparation.

You can speak to our Careers Advisers before, during and after your studies with us.