icould free teaching resources

From engaging young people in your subject to informing choices about GCSE options and beyond, take a look at these ideas and resources for using icould in the classroom.

icould and subject teaching

This new guide Your subject their future: a guide to using volunteers and videos to enhance the curriculum helps to draw clear links between the classroom and the reality of the workplace in ways that young people can understand. The guide is produced by icould in partnership with Inspiring the Future.

The Buzz Quiz
Start thinking about careers with this fun, quick quiz which looks at your strengths. There are 16 possible results, each linked to an animal type.
Take the Buzz Quiz

Inspiring career videos
From accountants to zoo keepers, our real-life storytellers share an inside view of their current job and reveal how they got there. Explore over 1000 videos across roles, industries and entry points.
Explore videos by:
subject to give practical examples of how your subject is relevant in work;
job type to find out about different jobs within certain area of work;
life event to see how other issues and interests can shape careers.

Easy-to-understand job data (Labour Market Information)
Find information relating to job types below each icould video, including salary and weekly hours; job description, qualifications and tasks; employment by region; future employment; and gender balance.

What next?
Help students explore their options and choices at key decision points.
Choosing your GCSE options
What next after your GCSEs?
What next after A-levels or college?

How to start thinking about careers
Try these simple and fun activities to get students thinking about careers.

Our free classroom resources have been designed for teachers but can be easily adapted for use outside school. We’ve tested these resources with teachers, but would welcome further feedback to inform future improvements. Please contact us with any comments or suggestions.

Ten quick ideas
Quick fire ideas that can be adapted to take up 5-10 minutes or a whole session. A great place to start using icould in the classroom.
Ten quick ideas: teacher/adviser notes

Behind every successful person
Taking celebrities or well-known figures as a starting point to think about careers, this resource encourages students to explore connections between jobs and explore opportunities in related roles.
Student worksheet: Behind every successful person

What makes you tick?
Help students understand the importance of factors such as personal qualities, outlook and resilience when making career choices.
Student worksheet: What makes you tick?

This report by Nicki Moore and Tristram Hooley from the University of Derby explores how icould is used by a wide range of practitioners.

See report: Making use of icould: learning from practice

These sites all have useful subject-specific career information:

Careers in geography: Geographical Association

Careers in science: Future Morph

Careers in maths: Maths Careers

STEM careers: IET Faraday. Teaching resources and activities to encourage the learning and uptake of science, design and technology, engineering, maths and computing. Make lessons even more interesting and show real-life applications of learning with innovative examples of current engineering and technology from around the world.

Inspiring the Future connects teachers with thousands of volunteers across the UK, from a huge range of jobs, at all levels.

Primary Futures raises aspirations by helping younger children understand the link between learning and their futures.

Inspiring Women shares inspirational, first-hand career stories of women to motivate girls to consider the widest range of future careers.

Inspiring Governance connects volunteers interested in becoming governors with schools to provide the best environment for student achievement.

Inspiring FE Governance connects volunteers interested in becoming governors with FE colleges and training providers.

Education and Employers Research undertakes and promotes high-quality research on education and employer engagement to inform education policy and practice.