Careers and skills are embedded at every stage of NHEHS. To celebrate National Careers Week, we officially launched our new NHEHS Careers and Skills Journey Programme poster, mapping out what activities are covered in each year.

Plus, our Careers Reps Chris V and Lauren W launched a competition to design a ‘Career of the Future’. They asked pupils to describe in 200 to 400 words a job that doesn’t exist yet but might become one in upcoming years. 

At the end of the week, Zoe D in Year 12 was announced as the winner with her ‘Virtual Reality Habitat Designer’ job role.

The winning entry described the role as follows: ‘People who develop virtual reality experiences by using natural environments to allow people to access the diverse ecosystems found across the globe, for example, lush rainforests, beautiful coasts or coral reefs. 

‘By using advanced software and AI algorithms, these designers will draw on expertise from ecology, architecture, VR design and AI to help design and construct these digital experiences. The designers will also be able to closely collaborate with different communities, organisations and individuals so that they are able to accurately replicate the feeling of being in a certain biome. This allows people to use VR headsets to hike through the virtual forests, observe different wildlife behaviour and even participate in conservation efforts within their digital worlds. 

‘Scientific research has shown that enjoying nature releases serotonin and allows people to relax and forget about life’s worries – this virtual world allows people to experience the outside world without leaving their own home but still be able to escape the concrete world that we currently live in.’ 

Special mentions went to Raphaelle N in Year 7 for her idea of a missing airpod finder, Ruby A in Year 11 for her dream organiser role, and Felicity C in Year 12 for her alien language translator job.