The third Orkney Careers Fair was held earlier this month at the Pickaquoy Centre and was attended by over 900 young people and adults from across the county.

As well as being attended by members of the general public, over 550 S4-S6 pupils from Stromness Academy and Kirkwall Grammar School, and S3-S4 pupils from Stronsay, Sanday and Westray Junior High Schools came along and accessed a wide variety of careers, education and training information, all geared to helping them understand the options available to them locally and further afield.

Along with local school pupils, 13 senior pupils from Farr High School in Bettyhill, made the trip over the Firth to attend the event.

Another Thursday; another Jobs of the Week!

This week's features include a Delivery Driver position with McAdie & Reeve, a vacancy with Excursions Ltd for an Operations Assistant, an opening for a Support for Learning Assistant at the Stromness Primary School, and more! Tesco have also started recruiting for festive seasonal positions.

For more details on the jobs we've included this week, click on the button below.

Having trouble thinking of what to write into a CV or personal statement? My World of Work have some great quiz-based resources to help you figure out strengths, skills and qualities you have - they will even suggest jobs or career paths based on what you enter!

Jobs of the Week are live! If you came to the Careers Fair yesterday, we hope you found it useful and enjoyable.

Our first two features this week are (for now) only available in the paper and not on The Orcadian's website - these are a vacancy with Robertsons for a Store Person, and an opportunity at Orkney IFA to train as a Financial Planning Paraplanner. Alongside these, we have a couple of other apprenticeships to feature, which include an opening at Swannay Brewery for a Trainee Brewer, and with Cooke Scotland to apprentice either in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering.

For more details on the jobs we've included this week, click on the button below.

Did you know? Graduate Apprenticeships allow you to gain a fully funded degree up to Honours or Masters level while on the job. This is a great way to kickstart your career, but be mindful that spaces are often highly competitive! To find out more, visit apprenticeships.scot.

Earlier this week, we offered an information session to parents and carers, to help them support their young person or adult ahead of the Orkney Careers Fair.
 
This session provided an overview of the event, the support that will be in place on the day and the information that is in place to help those visiting the event to plan who they want to speak to, and to prepare to get the most out of the event.
 
If you were unable to attend the event, a recorded version is available to view below:

Jobs of the Week are live for this Thursday!

Featured this week are a few Administrative positions from NHS Orkney, Macgregor Industrial Supplies and Orkney Health and Care; Bar Staff openings at the Ayre Hotel and Stromness Legion; and the Young Person's Traineeship at Soulisquoy Printmakers, closing soon.

For more details on the jobs we've included this week, click on the button below.

Your experience doesn't need to come from a full-time, paid job. You can gain valuable transferrable skills from things like placements, internships, relief work, volunteering, clubs, sports, and hobbies.

Jobs of the Week are live!

This week, by pure chance, seven out of our nine picks have "Assistant" somewhere in the job title. Among these are a vacancy at Marie Curie for a Healthcare Assistant, an opening at Kirkwall Grammar School for an Administrative Assistant, an opportunity with Compass Group in Flotta for a Kitchen Shift General Assistant with the opportunity to gain your food hygiene ticket, and more!

For full details on the vacancies we've featured this week, click on the button below.

Please note that My Job Scotland is undergoing scheduled maintenance this weekend, and may be unavailable for up to six hours from 7:00am on Saturday 21st September. If you're applying for work via My Job Scotland over the weekend - this includes most jobs with Orkney Islands Council, among others - make sure to plan around this downtime period so you don't get caught out!

As part of the Orkney Careers Fair, we are offering a series of breakout sessions for employers and teachers.  These sessions will take place between 3.30pm and 5pm on the day of the fair (Wednesday 2 October 2024) and they will cover a variety of topics that you may be interested in learning more about.
 
Bookings are now open for the breakout sessions, and you can read more about what they cover, as well as reserve your space below:

Jobs of the Week are live for this Thursday!

Today's features include an opening at Orkney Islands Council for an IT Technician, Front of House vacancies at Archive Coffee, Twenty One and the Picky Centre, a brilliant opportunity for a Traineeship at Soulisquoy Printmakers, and more.

For more information on the jobs we've featured this week, click on the button below.

If you're looking for a job with a certain company, but they're not actively recruiting, try sending a speculative application. Even if they don't have any paid vacancies, this demonstrates that you are proactive and motivated. They may be able to offer you an internship or a placement, and when a vacancy does come up within the company, they might even ask you first. For more information, have a look at this page on our website.

Earlier this week, we held a Farm to Fork event in partnership with the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET).

Farm to Fork was an early career event for S1 pupils that had been developed to help them explore the wider careers associated with the agricultural sector.  Pupils were able to speak to exhibitors to learn more about how food is produced by farmers then used by local food and drink producers in the final product.

Jobs of the Week are live!

Today we've been able to feature a few jobs with the opportunity to gain a work-based qualification. These include a vacancy with Orkney Health and Care for a Lifestyles Assistant, an opening with SSE to train as a Project Manager over two years, and an opportunity at the Picky Centre to become a fully-qualified Lifeguard, closing next week with training set to begin in October.

For more details on all of the jobs we've included this week, click on the button below.

Your CV can be tailored to the job you're applying to. Read carefully through any documents the employer may have provided on the job listing, and make improvements to your CV as you see fit. However, don't be tempted to lie! You're likely to be caught out, especially at the interview stage.

Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Orkney and Skills Development Scotland (SDS) are joining forces to host the third Orkney Careers Fair this October in Kirkwall.

This free event will be held in the Arena of the Pickaquoy Centre on Wednesday 2 October 2024, from 9.30am-6pm, and will be open to school pupils, parents and guardians, teachers and the general public.

Jobs of the Week are live for this Thursday!

This week we've gathered a good variety of jobs to feature, including part-time retail openings at Aurora in Kirkwall and Argo's Bakery in Stromness, Admin-related positions at Streamline for an Administration Assistant and OIC for a Community Council Liaison Assistant, a vacancy at NOV for a Laboratory Technician which could suit a school leaver interested in science, and more.

For more details on the vacancies we've featured this week, click on the button below.

During an interview, if you can, try to relate your skills and experience to the role. This could be something as simple as spending a lot of time using a home computer - employers often look for computer literacy in potential candidates (even in industries you might not expect!), and they'll often tell you this in the person specification.

Jobs of the Week are live!

This week we have some interesting opportunities to feature: the Burray Boatyard is looking for a Trainee or Assistant Engineer, UHI Orkney have a maternity cover opening for a Marketing and Communications Assistant to handle their social media presence, Rendall's Bakery are advertising for a Bakery Production Assistant with the opportunity to gain an SVQ, and more!

For more details of the vacancies we've included this week, click on the button below.

The Job Hub is held from 10am-12pm on Thursdays in The Hub for Learning, Skills and Work at 2 Albert Street, Kirkwall. Staff are on hand to help with job searching, applications and preparation for interviews, so why not come past and get the support you need to take the next step in your career journey?

Jobs of the Week is back! We hope you enjoyed the shows last week.

This week's featured vacancies include an opening at Orkney Factors for a Partsperson, an opportunity at Superdrug for a Sales Advisor in the Cosmetics department, positions at the Harbour Fry for Cooks and Serving Staff, and more!

For full details of the vacancies we've included this week, click on the button below.

Your CV doesn't need to be boring or devoid of colour. As long as all of the essential information is there, a little flair can go a long way in helping you to stand out from other applicants - but keep it professional!

Young people across Orkney will tomorrow (Tuesday 6 August) receive their SQA results.  If your results are not what you expected, don’t panic you still have options – and there will be experts on hand to help you navigate the next part of your journey.

​From 8am on Tuesday 6 August, a dedicated Results Helpline from Skills Development Scotland (SDS) will run with Careers Advisers waiting to answer calls and offer advice, information and support to young people and their parents or carers.

For our final Sector Spotlight of this summer, we speak to Brian Cromarty, who works at Voluntary Action Orkney as a Youth Development Worker. VAO provides support to the third sector in Orkney by acting as a voice and a central source of knowledge for the third sector, building the capacity of volunteer organisations and their ability to connect with the community.

This week’s Jobs of the Week are now live and includes opportunities in the hospitality industry with The Lynnfield Hotel, Standing Stones Hotel and The Storehouse Restaurant with Rooms.  We also have a Visitor Services Assistant at the Scapa Flow Museum at Lyness, and a Practice Administrator with Flett and Carmichael Vets.
 
For full details of all of the vacancies included this week, click on the button below.
 
When you are looking for a job, it is sometimes difficult to know where to start and how to find the job that is right for you.  For advice on tips on starting your job hunt, visit My World of Work, or find help on the DYW Orkney website, here.

There will be no Jobs of the Week next week as the DYW Orkney office is closed due to staff holidays.  Normal service will resume on Thursday 15 August

In this edition of our Sector Spotlight on the Third Sector, we hear from Craig Nisbet, Purposeful Blide Coordinator at the Orkney Blide Trust. The Blide are a charity who aim to promote good mental health and wellbeing in Orkney through active and personalised support. They offer a variety of services to bring about their aim, including one-to-one support, counselling and befriending services, and a variety of events.

For our first Sector Spotlight on the Third Sector, we hear from Kara Leslie, who works as a Specialist Sexual Violence Prevention Practitioner at ORSAS, or the Orkney Rape and Sexual Assault Service. ORSAS is a relatively new addition to the Rape Crisis Scotland network, whose centres offer support to local areas in supporting sexual abuse and assault survivors, as well as prevention of sexual violence through campaigning.
 
Kara also works part-time as a lecturer at UHI Orkney, in the Inclusive Practice department.

In the final entry of our Sector Spotlight on Engineering, we speak to Melanie Smith from R S Merriman Ltd, who works as an electrician. Merrimans are an electrical contractor based in Stromness who undertake a variety of works throughout the county across domestic, commercial and industrial facilities.

It is Thursday, which can only mean one thing; it is time for Jobs of the Week.

This week we have your last chance to apply for a General Assistant post with The Pier Arts Centre, a part-time Finance Assistant role with Voluntary Action Orkney, and a Receptionist/Administrative Assistant post with D and H Law.  The closing date for all posts is within the next few days.

We also have part-time opportunities with Archive Coffee and the Isbister’s shop in Quoyloo, as well as a Graduate opportunity with NOV in Flotta.

For full details of all the vacancies, including how and where to apply, click on the button below.

If you need to work on your CV to get it ready for applying for a job, did you know that My World of Work has a CV Builder which will help you create a standout CV.  Check it out here.

For the third edition of our Sector Spotlight on Engineering, we hear from Dain Koshy, a Junior Project Engineer at Leask Marine. Leask Marine carry out a variety of marine work around the Northern Isles, such as marine construction, inspection, diving, and installation and maintenance of tidal and wave energy devices.

In this edition of our Sector Spotlight on Engineering, we hear from Sandy Linklater of Linklater Engineering. LE are a local agricultural engineering company based in Stenness, who stock and maintain Massey Ferguson farming machinery.

Beginning our Sector Spotlight on Engineering, we hear from Elsa Ramírez Santiago of Leask Marine, where she works as Lead Project Engineer. Leask Marine carry out a variety of marine work around the Northern Isles, such as marine construction, inspection, diving, and installation and maintenance of tidal and wave energy devices.

In our final Sector Spotlight on Aquaculture, we speak to Michael Lewington, the Factory Manager at Cooke Aquaculture Scotland’s Orkney Packing Station (OPS). OPS is responsible for processing, packing and distributing superior whole Orkney farmed salmon to suppliers locally, nationally and internationally.