School pupils across Orkney will have received provisional SQA results for their assessments earlier this week, and if your results are not what you expected, don’t panic you still have options – and there are experts on hand to help you navigate the next part of your journey.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) are extending their results support this year and Careers Advisers are now waiting to answer calls and provide support to young people, their parents and carers.
 
If you, or your child, needs some help with provisional results they can call the SDS Helpline on 0800 917 8000, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.  This number will be open until Monday 9 August to discuss provisional results and what they mean.
 
Further support will be available from Tuesday 10 August in relation to course vacancies, clearing, advice about apprenticeships, jobs, volunteering and staying on at school.  Keep an eye out for more information nearer the time.
 
If you would rather speak to someone familiar, you can also contact Careers Advisers from the local SDS team in Kirkwall.  You can get in touch with them by calling (01856) 872 460 or emailing kirkwall@sds.co.uk.  You can also find them on Facebook @SDS Orkney.
 
You can find further advice on My World of Work.

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.

Are you a local employer who would like to learn more about apprenticeships and the benefits they can offer your business?

​Developing the Young Workforce are working in partnership with Skills Development Scotland to host a national online event for employers.

​This event will provide employers of all sizes with the latest information about apprenticeships, current funding support and practical advice on how to take on an apprentice - whether a new recruit or upskilling an existing employee.

We are all aware of the economic impact of coronavirus and that some businesses have either made or are having to consider making redundancies. This is not an easy process for the employer or the employee, but help is at hand to provide support.

The local PACE partnership offers a free, confidential redundancy support service for businesses of any size.  The service is free and employers can use it to help them and their staff navigate redundancy.

It is managed by Skills Development Scotland, and Claire Sim from the Kirkwall team has made the below video explaining more about PACE and the support they can offer Orkney businesses.  You can also read more here.

If you would like to learn more about PACE, contact Claire on claire.sim@sds.co.uk or call (01856) 602 815.

As part of Scottish Apprenticeships Week we have shared the experiences of those currently undertaking an apprenticeship, but what happens once your apprenticeship is finished?
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Orkney Construction Training Group (OCTG) have allowed us to share a video they have made which focuses on apprentices moving on in their career - see the below from the OCTG.

In the final of their series of interviews for Scottish Apprenticeships Week, BBC Radio Orkney have heard from a local woman who is undertaking a Graduate Apprenticeship.
 
Anja Hall is currently undertaking a Graduate Apprenticeship in Business Administration through Robert Gordon University.  She is employed by Orkney Distilling Limited, where she works full-time while studying for her degree.

​In the second of their interviews celebrating Scottish Apprenticeships Week, BBC Radio Orkney have spoken to two members of staff from NHS Orkney about their Modern Apprenticeships.
 
NHS Orkney offer two different types of Modern Apprenticeships, the first is clinical and covers areas such as wards, out patients and day surgery, while the non-clinical apprenticeship focuses on careers in administration, estates, finance and IT.

​To celebrate Scottish Apprenticeships Week, we are highlighting the diversity that makes work-based learning good for individuals, employers and the economy.
 
Throughout the week, BBC Radio Orkney are featuring interviews with local people who are undertaking apprenticeships along with their employers, who are supporting them through the qualification.

​Next week is Scottish Apprenticeships Week, which celebrates the diversity that makes work-based learning good for individuals, employers and the economy.
 
This year’s campaign theme is ‘Talent Without Limits’ and we want to use the week to challenge the stereotypical view of apprenticeships and highlight the diverse range of apprenticeships that exist in Orkney.

Are you a current, or past apprentice?  Want to share your success story, tell others that university is not the only way and share the benefits of choosing an apprenticeship?  Then join Scotland’s Apprentice Network.

A careers event was held at Stronsay Junior High earlier this week to help pupils think about their career options and understand the range of opportunities that are available to them on Stronsay, elsewhere in Orkney and further afield.

Titled Stronsay Destinations and using the theme of No Wrong Path, the event was organised by school teachers Mrs Groat and Mrs Barber, Developing the Young Workforce Orkney and Skills Development Scotland.  We were joined at the event by Cooke Aquaculture and Papdale Halls of Residence.

We hosted a Lunch and Learn event earlier this week to help local employers learn how they can engage with their future workforce more easily.
 
Over 20 employers attended our event to hear how Founders4Schools and Marketplace can help them engage with school pupils, in a way that fits in with their business needs.

We teamed up with Skills Development Scotland at the weekend to attend a careers fair for local young people who are, or have been, care experienced.
 
The event was organised by the Children and Families Team at Orkney Health and Care (OHAC) and was a chance for young people to meet employers in a relaxed and informal environment and learn more about some of the different jobs that are available with businesses in Orkney.  SDS and ourselves provided information about career management skills, CV writing and information on the different learning and training pathways available.

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.

​A six week programme to help young people prepare for their next step after leaving school concluded this week.

In partnership with Skills Development Scotland, DYW Orkney have been working with pupils at Kirkwall Grammar School and Stromness Academy who are planning to leave school at the end of this academic year.  The six week School Leavers’ Programme was developed to help prepare young people for their next step after school.