Wood Group Visit to Northfield Academy

 

 

Eastern Region People Relationships Uncategorised

Inspiring the next generation

Sharing career experiences

We have hosted our first classroom lesson at Northfield Academy in Aberdeen, our partner school in the Scottish Government’s Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) initiative.

Ray Duffy, Wood Group integrity operations manager based in Sir Ian Wood House in Aberdeen, taught a physics lesson for two National 5 classes in mid-September. Ray inspired the students by showing them how the theory they learn in the classroom can be used in real life, and by sharing some of his own career experiences.

The National 5 students at Northfield Academy were interested in both Ray and the equipment he was using, and even remarked they can see why they are learning Boyle’s Law now, that it isn’t just something for classroom maths but can be used at work too.

Ray’s first experience of going into a school to talk about his job was when the school he had attended reached out to former pupils to give real life experience to students to assist in their learning. ‘It was something that I found to be a really enjoyable experience,’ says Ray. ‘I am still involved with my former school and when I found that Wood Group supported a local school in the same way it was the next logical step.’

Ray, along with Wood Group’s Stacey Falzon and Helen Troup, also recently attended an assembly at Northfield Academy for fifth and sixth year students, explaining the benefits of mentoring and how to get involved. By the end of September we plan to have paired our Wood Group mentors assigned to students to offer them guidance and support on the world of work, career options and the different paths available.

Sir Ian Wood chaired the Commission for Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce that led to the development of this programme. Wood Group is asking employees to volunteer their support with Northfield Academy from August 2017 through to June 2018, by providing career guidance and experience.

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A STEM café was held in September at Mackie Academy, in Stonehaven near Aberdeen, where STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) related professionals, and students interested in the subjects or a related career, could network.  Wood Group’s Ian Ramsey and Guy Logan joined the event as STEM ambassadors, sharing their enthusiasm and experience with engineers and scientists of the future.

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If you would like to get involved with DYW or STEM, you can contact Stacey Falzon, our talent manager for Europe.