At South Devon College, our focus is on supporting every student to achieve their aspirations and build a successful career, with a focus on skills growth and personal development. Our Careers and Employability services are central to this, offering tailored support and impartial guidance from a team of professional and qualified staff.
An important first step in your journey is choosing a course that suits your interests and ambitions. We understand this can be a difficult decision, so we offer all prospective students a one-to-one session with a qualified Personal Guidance Adviser. These impartial sessions help you understand the full range of study options, career pathways, apprenticeships and support available, enabling you to make an informed choice.
Once enrolled, you will continue to benefit from our comprehensive and evolving Careers Programme, ensuring that you are fully prepared for your next steps.
Developed in partnership with the Heart of the South West Careers Hub, local employers, Enterprise Advisers, and the College’s Senior Leadership Team, this programme has achieved 100% across all eight Gatsby Benchmarks – a framework developed to provide an effective careers provision to young people in schools and colleges.
At South Devon College, our priority is to help you achieve your goals and begin a successful career in your chosen sector, no matter what your age. We have a dedicated team of professional, qualified staff, who attend to your individual needs and provide you with the best possible experience.
The start of your journey with us, and one of the most important steps, will be to identify the most suitable course for you. This will be easier for some more than others and we hope will be linked to your future aspirations. We want to ensure you feel well informed about this important decision and therefore offer all prospective students the opportunity to speak with a qualified member of our Personal Guidance team who can give you impartial advice and information about courses, support, study routes and careers pathways.
The College places strong emphasis on helping students develop the personal skills they need to succeed and to be respectful citizens. Through personal development sessions, targeted activities and our relational approach to behaviour, students build confidence, communication skills, resilience and readiness for work or further study. This approach ensures that everyone leaves South Devon College not only with qualifications but also with the knowledge, skills and experiences needed to thrive in today’s world of work.
Our careers policy also outlines our commitment to providing an impartial, high-quality service.
Once you have enrolled with us you will continue to receive information and support to prepare you for your next steps and future endeavours through our robust Careers Programme.
Careers Lead
Deputy Careers Lead
Located at the heart of the Paignton campus, the Centre is a completely free service exclusively for our students. Delivered in partnership with local employers, it provides direct access to employment opportunities – both part-time jobs to run alongside studies and full-time roles after graduation.
The Careers and Employability Centre is a free service exclusive to South Devon College students, delivered in partnership with local employers. It provides direct access to new employment opportunities in the local area. This might be part-time work alongside your studies or full-time opportunities in your chosen profession upon graduation.
We can help to build confidence, communication, and preparation skills as well as supporting in overcoming barriers to access new opportunities.
All the latest job updates can be found on SDStudent.
We can help you with your CV, online application, and letter of application and provide interview training for you. Drop into the Careers and Employability Centre at any point for instant help. Please click the links below for further support:
We also offer:
The South Devon College Careers and Employability Centre can help your business recruit seasonal or part time staff!
Our students have time when they can work:
South Devon College has over 13,000 students aged between 16 and 60+ across a wide range of skills and abilities. We actively encourage our students to find part time jobs, work experience or Apprenticeships, not only to support local businesses, but also to help the local economy.
We can help our students to prepare before they come to you. All the students whose details we forward to you will receive focused pre-employment support and guidance, so that you have the best choice of employment-ready students.
This service is completely free of charge.
Claire McMahon, Youth Education Co-ordinator Torbay, British Red Cross “South Devon College is an amazingly impressive dynamic place…we attended with the ambition of promoting our educational offer, networking and encouraging volunteering with Youth Education. The event was an excellent profile raising session and since we have had three bookings!”
Gary Brenton, Personnel and Development Manager at TLH Leisure Resort, Torquay “We were very impressed with support from South Devon College staff. We came back with 16 completed application forms!”
Peter Jones, School Manager at Kaplan International English College “I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your team at the Helpzone, South Devon College for arranging the opportunity for me to promote summer vacancies available at Kaplan International College. The process of holding group talks and individual interviews worked very well and gave the student applicants and myself a good opportunity to get to know each other.”
Sarah Youlden, Assistant Manager at Splashdown Waterparks “We are extremely grateful for the help and support provided by South Devon College. Our visit to the College enabled us to talk informally about the positions we can offer to the students. In total we have employed 40 successful applicants from South Devon College and we are now in the process of inducting and training them in preparation for the summer season.”
All students are supported to undertake meaningful work experience. The structure and length vary depending on their main qualification – some courses have embedded placements, while others incorporate work experience during enrichment weeks or as a separate requirement. Students track and reflect on their experiences through their personal online Navigate accounts.
To register your interest in Work Experience, please fill out the form below:
Funded incentives are available for employers to recruit apprentices through South Devon College, whether you want to upskill existing staff or bring in new talent - now is the right time to invest in apprenticeships.
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A space designed for you. At the heart of the new offer is the Sixth Form Hub, a dedicated student space, with laptops provided to support your learning.
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Flexible, employer-led training designed to help you gain in-demand skills and secure better job opportunities.
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Select, save and compare courses to create a prospectus tailored to you.
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At South Devon College Sixth Form, you have the freedom to choose your study options, selecting from both A Levels and applied subjects.
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Get active at South Devon College! Come and give us a try with a free one-day guest pass. Contact us via the link to book in your free pass. Staff available on the gym desk from 4pm weekdays or 9am on Saturdays.
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