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.

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:

Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Orkney are currently recruiting for a Modern Apprentice Administrative Assistant to join our team.

The successful candidate will be supported to complete a Modern Apprenticeship in Business and Administration at Orkney College UHI (read more here).  This is a fantastic opportunity for someone aged between 16 and 24 years - or 29 years if you are care experienced or disabled – who is looking to gain qualifications alongside working and earning a salary.

Until recently, the Administrative Assistant post was held by Andy Tait, who successfully completed his SVQ 2 and SVQ 3 Business and Administration qualifications during his time with DYW Orkney.  You can read more about Andy’s journey with us below:

A successful taster session has been held at Orkney College to help school pupils learn more about some of the subjects they can study at the college as part of their school timetable.

​In January, over 200 S3 pupils from Kirkwall Grammar School and Stromness Academy attended a Taster Session at Orkney College.  The event was timed to support the subject choice period, when these pupils will be choosing which subjects to study in S4.

Third year pupils at Stromness Academy have recently enjoyed a week of activities during the school’s annual Careers Week.

A part of the school calendar since 2019, Careers Week was developed to support pupils in S3, who will shortly be making their subject choices for their fourth year, which can influence where they will end up after school.

Are you someone who is compassionate, enjoys working with people and looking for a career that helps other live their lives to the full?  If so, you may be interested in a new online course which has been developed to help people learn more about careers in Social Care.

'Introduction to a Career in Social Care' is a free six week, part-time, online course being offered by Orkney College UHI.  You will be fully supported by a tutor and will need to commit up to ten hours a week to the course.

It is ideal for anyone aged 16 years and over and, as the course is part-time, you can fit it round your life and existing commitments.

Career opportunities in social care are many and varied, with a variety of services meeting the needs of children, young people and adults of all ages who need support.

The first intake for the course starts on Monday 7 March 2020.  For more information about the course, see the leaflet below or click here to apply.  You can also contact Derek Aiken, Curriculum Lead for Health, Social Care and Education, on (01856) 569 000 or by emailing [email protected] 

A trainee opportunity is being offered to an Orkney-based young person, giving them that chance to collaborate with a local printmaker and co-produce a project of their own design.
 
Soulisquoy Printmaker in Stromness, is offering the traineeship as part of ART Evolution, which is being supported by Creative Scotland and managed by Engage Scotland.
 
As part of the programme, they are looking to recruit a young person aged 16-25 years to take part in a short training programme and be closely involved in the running of the project, its development and delivery.
 
The time commitment will mostly be at weekends and evenings and could suit some still at school, at college or already working.  You will have the chance to learn about the arts sector, project management and printmaking, with the successful applicant receiving a £2,000 bursary to participate in the programme.  This could be a unique opportunity to add to your CV.
 
If you would like to learn more about this opportunity, Soulisquoy Printmakers are hosting a taster session on Saturday 16 and 23 October.  You can also get further details by emailing [email protected]
 
There is more information about the trainee opportunity at the links below.

Young people across Orkney who need help applying for jobs, apprenticeships or college courses can access support from a new programme created by Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Orkney and Skills Development Scotland (SDS).

​The ‘Planning for the Future’ career management programme is free and includes resources that young people can use if they need help writing a CV, applying for a college course, apprenticeship or job or preparing for an interview.

As part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week, we are helping you understand more about the apprenticeship framework in Scotland.  There are three levels of apprenticeship, Foundation, Modern and Graduate.  Today we are focusing on Foundation Apprenticeships.

This week’s Sector Spotlight is focusing on the Construction Industry.  Today, we hear from Jacqueline Argo, who is the Apprenticeships Officer for the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).

Jacqueline started her career as an Office Junior before becoming an Accounts Assistant.  She then became Office Manager for a construction company, and moved into her current role 12 years ago.

​An online game which has been designed to help close the skills gap in the engineering sector has been launched and is now available to play.
 
Enginuity and the Prince’s Trust have created Skills Miner, an online game that can identify people who have what it takes to power the nation’s economic recovery when the lockdown is lifted.

Local employers are invited to book their place at an event that will help them learn more about recruiting apprentices and attracting young people to their workforce.

​Hosted by Remarkable, on behalf of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and in partnership with Developing the Young Workforce Orkney, this will be an opportunity for local employers to hear from some of the organisations who can help them recruit young people into their business and learn more about accessing the opportunities available to develop new or existing employees.

An Orkney and Apprenticeships: Skills for the Future information event was held at Orkney College UHI on Wednesday 6 March 2019 to help young people, parents and carers learn more about the different apprenticeships available in Orkney and understand the opportunities they offer for progression in a career.

We’ve had a busy week spreading the message about Foundation Apprenticeships.

On Monday, we held an information evening for senior teaching staff, guidance teachers and careers advisers from local schools. This event was supported by staff from the Work Based Learning Hub at University of the Highlands and Islands and Curriculum Leads from Orkney College UHI.

Those present were given an overview of Foundation Apprenticeships in Scotland and heard some of the success stories from elsewhere in Scotland. The curriculum leads then spoke in more detail about the frameworks being offered in Orkney in 2019, highlighting the academic aspect of the subjects and the benefits the vocational, work placement element offers young people.

On Tuesday we attended the Senior Phase Parent's Evening at Stromness Academy to speak to parents about the Foundation Apprenticeships being offered.

Thursday saw us, along with Orkney College, delivering an input to all teaching staff at Stromness Academy, as part for their in-service training.

All of these inputs have been really beneficial as they have enabled us to inform those who support young people about the options available. We have also been able to answer any questions they may have and help them understand the various options available to learners as part of the Orkney Offer.

There will be four Foundation Apprenticeships available in Orkney next year. They are Business Skills, IT: Software Development, Social Services and Healthcare and, Social Services: Children and Young People. If you would like to learn more about what the can offer, speak to your careers advisers, guidance teachers or Orkney College.

​Thanks to Orkney College, University of the Highlands and Islands and local schools for their support at these inputs.

We have recently been running a campaign over on our Facebook page featuring videos and interviews with current and former students of Orkney College UHI to highlight the Higher Education opportunities that exist locally.