Happy New Year! The first Jobs of the Week of 2025 are live.

To start the year off we've got a variety of features, such as a Husbandry opportunity with Scottish Sea Farms with trainee option available, an opening at R Clouston for a Delivery Driver with a C1 licence, a graduate opportunity with Xodus to train as an Environmental Consultant, and more!

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

Researching the employer in the lead-up to an interview is a key method of showing your interest in the job. This can often be difficult, so if you're having trouble, why not have a look at this guide?

The final Jobs of the Week of 2024 are live! We'll be back with more at the start of the new year.

This week's features include an opening with Cooke Scotland for a Maintenance Engineer at their factory in Hatston, an opportunity to join Papdale Primary School as an Auxiliary, some vacancies at Tesco, and more.

For full 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!

Stromness Academy’s annual Careers Week was held at the end of November, giving pupils an insight into the variety of careers they can undertake when they leave school.

Now in its sixth year, Careers Week was developed to support S3 pupils as they make their subject choices for their fourth year.  Throughout the week, they learn about some of the careers available to them in Orkney and further afield and hear about the different pathways they can take into their future job.

Jobs of the Week are live!

This week's featured positions include an opening with the Royal Mail in Stromness for a Postperson with Driving, Support Worker opportunities with Scottish Autism, a maternity cover vacancy with the Pickaquoy Centre for a Fitness Instructor, part-time openings for Housekeeping at the Kirkwall Hotel, and more!

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

We're not the only place that posts jobs! If you're not feeling any of the jobs we've curated this week, you can check out sites like orkney.com, My Job Scotland or The Orcadian for more postings.

Jobs of the Week are live!

This week's features include an opening at Stromness Academy for an Administrative Assistant, a vacancy with E Fraser Electrical in Finstown for an Electrician/Labourer, a part-time opportunity for a Warden at the Birsay Hostel, and more!

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

When talking about your experience in a job interview, use the STAR approach: Situation - what were you dealing with?; Task - what had to be done?; Action - what did you do?; Result - what was the outcome of your action? For more information on the STAR method, have a look at this article from the National Careers Service. You may also know this as the CAR method, which stands for Context, Action and Result, and this can often be easier to base your answers around.

Jobs of the Week are live!

This week we have a fair variety of positions, such as an opening for a Registered Nurse at the Balfour that would suit someone who has recently qualified, Customer Assistant vacancies at Lidl and the Co-op in Kirkwall, and an opening at Orkney Islands Council for a Database Support Officer, suitable for someone with good working knowledge of SQL and a HND in computer science. Also featured, the Kirkwall Hotel are looking for Housekeeping staff, with immediate start available.

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

Asking questions at the end of a job interview is a great way to make yourself stand out from other applicants, and interviewers will often expect them. If you're having trouble thinking of questions to ask, you can research the company online, or have a look at this blog post for ideas: https://resources.biginterview.com/interview-questions-answers/questions-to-ask-at-the-end-of-interview/

An event to showcase the variety of careers connected to the Heritage sector was held at Kirkwall Grammar School recently as part of Heritage Careers Week.
 
Heritage Careers Week is an annual week of activity held in October, which aims to raise awareness of the variety of heritage careers and pathways into the workforce.  It also aims to inspire young people to consider a career in the historic environment.

Jobs of the Week are live!

This week we have a couple of 18+ part-time opportunities with Papdale Stores and the Royal British Legion in Kirkwall, alongside a social care role from Scottish Autism, as well as Orkney Islands Council, who are offering two posts for Support For Learning Assistants at Glaitness Primary School. Also featured is an opening for a Medical Administrator at the Stromness Surgery, which will be closing next week.

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

Remember, your skills and strengths can always be developed. Some great ways of doing this might be to join an evening class, short course or club outwith school or work. Community Learning and Development operate the Learning Link and a variety of evening short courses - check out this link for more information!

Pupils at Kirkwall Grammar School have been given an insight into medical careers by local GPs, to encourage them to consider applying to Medical School in the future.

Targeted to pupils in S3, 4 and 5 who are taking two or more sciences, the Medical Insight Session was offered by NHS Orkney and run by Doctors Ingrid Seatter, Anne Nicolson and Angus Lyon from the Heilendi Medical Practice.  They were joined by Merin Manoq, a fifth-year medical student.

Pupils at Kirkwall Grammar School have recently completed a course which gives them an insight into early childhood development, helping them to gain the skills and knowledge they will need in their future career.

This is the third year the Solihull Approach for Young People – Understanding Yourself and Parenting has been delivered in the school by staff from the OIC’s Early Years Team.  The course is offered by pupils interested in working with babies and young children.  It gives an insight into early child development and looks at how babies and teenagers’ brains develop and how relationships are built between child and adult.

Twelve pupils from Kirkwall Grammar School took part in this year’s programme.

The Solihull Approach is also being delivered to pupils at Stromness Academy as part of their Friday afternoon activities, with 12 pupils from there also taking part.  This is the second time the programme has run at Stromness.

As part of the course, pupils got to meet a mum and their baby, giving them a chance to put into practice some of the skills they have learnt.  The course concluded with an additional session focusing on Early Years careers. Pupils heard from Early Years Managers and Practitioners, to learn about the different routes they could take into this career, as well as the opportunities to progress their career into more senior roles.

A huge thank you to Lorna Barry and Nicola Moar who ran the sessions at both school this year.

This week’s Jobs of the Week are now live and include a festive opportunity with Tesco, and two roles that offer work-based learning opportunities – a Pharmacy Support Worker with NHS Orkney and Early Years Practitioner at Stromness Nursery.
 
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, here, or find help on the DYW Orkney website, here.

Happy Halloween! Here are our jobs for this week.

Today we've featured a couple of Admin positions at Donaldsons of Orkney and the Stromness Surgery, an opportunity with the Burray Boatyard for an Electrical Engineer, a vacancy with J D Peace & Co for a Driver and Car Valeter, and more!

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

Relief, temporary, seasonal and part-time jobs are a brilliant way of gaining experience and refining your skills, which can be put to use in jobs you work all through your life.

Jobs of the Week are now live!

This week's features include a Husbandry role with Scottish Sea Farms, an opportunity at Loganair for a combined Customer Service and Ramp Agent, an Admin opening with NHS Orkney at The Balfour, and a great opportunity from Scholes CA to train as an Accountant!

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

If you're struggling to fill out an application form, we're here to help! Check out the guide on our website here for more information.

Jobs of the Week are live!

This week, Starlings, Poundstretcher and Papdale Stores are all looking for shop assistants - Papdale Stores have detailed their position is open to age 18 and over. Also featured, Northern Turbine Services are looking for an Administrative Assistant, and we have a graduate Engineering Technician position from EMEC which will be closing soon.

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

After sending in your application to an open position, you will often be asked to complete an interview with the employer. This is a great opportunity, not just for the employer to learn more about you as a person, but for you to ask any questions you may have about what it's like to work for their company. Visit our handy guide here for more tips, and to learn what to do and what not to do during a job interview.

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.