If you were unable to join us for the CAS Secondary: Careers online community meeting, don't worry! You can catch up on all the content and a recording of the session below.

Opening Doors to Tech Futures: A CAS Community Meeting Recap

Key Takeaways

1. CAS and BCS offer a wide range of careers resources, including videos, quizzes and classroom materials.

2. Tech She Can shared free careers-inspired resources and live lessons suitable for learners from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 3.

3. The STEM Ambassadors programme provides fully DBS-checked volunteers who can support talks, workshops, clubs and mentoring.

4. The Careers & Enterprise Company explained how teachers can meet Gatsby Benchmark 4 through simple, consistent curriculum links.

5. Working Options showcased employer-led workshops, industry insights and opportunities that build employability skills.

Careers education can feel daunting to integrate into an already full curriculum, but this session demonstrated just how many high-quality, completely free opportunities exist to support Computer Science teachers. Each speaker offered practical, classroom-ready resources alongside clear guidance on how to help young people understand the breadth of pathways available to them in tech.

The meeting opened with an overview of CAS and BCS careers pages, highlighting interviews with professionals, an IT careers quiz, information on apprenticeships, and classroom resources such as assemblies and themed lesson packs. These provide quick wins for teachers looking to introduce learners to the variety of roles within the tech sector. 

Tech She Can followed by sharing their mission to broaden participation in technology, particularly among girls and underrepresented groups, while emphasising that all their school-facing materials are created for mixed audiences. Their resources include animations that demystify topics like Wi-Fi, AI and wearable technology, live lessons requiring only pencil and paper, assemblies, worksheets, and opportunities for schools to host industry champions. These can be used across subjects—not only in Computing—to help pupils see where technology fits into everyday life. Regional projects, teacher CPD and upcoming AI-focused roadshows offer further routes for engagement.

Next, STEM Ambassadors outlined how their 28,000 volunteers can support schools. Teachers can request ambassadors to deliver talks, judge competitions, support clubs, run workshops or offer insights into roles involving computing and digital technologies. They also run national webinars tied to events such as National Careers Week and British Science Week, as well as online mentoring and “I’m a Scientist / Engineer / Computing Scientist, Get Me Out of Here” sessions.

From the Careers & Enterprise Company, we heard how careers education aligns with statutory guidance and the Gatsby Benchmarks—particularly Benchmark 4, which focuses on linking curriculum learning to careers. Their message was clear: embedding careers does not require large projects, additional workload, or guest speakers every week. Small, consistent references to real-world relevance can have a significant impact on learner motivation and aspiration. Their My Learning, My Future resource includes ready-made slide decks, home learning tasks and subject-specific content tailored to Computer Science.

Finally, Working Options introduced their national programme connecting pupils with employer volunteers from a range of sectors. Their offer includes industry insight talks, employability skills workshops (e.g., teamwork, interview skills, creativity and AI), business challenges, on-site employability taster days and networking events. Their TikTok and YouTube channels also provide accessible signposting for learners exploring next steps.

The session concluded with reminders about upcoming CAS careers posters and future careers-focused initiatives, all designed to help teachers represent a diverse range of pathways and role models. 

Next Steps

Here are some reflective questions you might ask yourself:

• How often do I explicitly link my curriculum content to real-world tech roles?

• Are my students aware of the variety of pathways into computing—not just university routes?

• How diverse are the role models I present when discussing careers?

• Could industry volunteers strengthen a unit I already teach?

• How might I embed small, regular careers references rather than one-off activities?

Example Exercises for the Classroom

• Career Snapshot Starter: Begin a lesson with a one-minute overview of a job linked to the topic (e.g., cybersecurity analyst, cloud engineer, UX researcher).

• Role-Behind-the-Tech Activity: Show an everyday technology (Wi-Fi, mapping apps, wearables) and ask students to list all the roles involved in creating it.

• Pathway Mapping: Invite students to map multiple routes into a tech career—apprenticeships, T Levels, degrees, work-based training.

• Industry Question Bank: After watching a Tech She Can animation or STEM Ambassador webinar, ask pupils to generate questions they would ask a professional in that field.

• Skills Reflection Exit Ticket: Link a lesson objective to a transferable skill (e.g., problem solving, creativity) and ask pupils to note where they used it.

Further Resources

IT Careers page with videos, apprenticeships information and quizzes

Event Slides

Tech She Can resources

Register as a STEM Ambassador

New Gatsby Benchmarks Blog

CEC Resources

Destination STEM