Academy9 Senior Mentoring Programme Launches at Kingussie High School

The Academy9 Career Mentoring programme launches this month at Kingussie High School. S4-6 pupils volunteer to take part in four online sessions with an industry professional working on the A9 Dualling programme in a career of interest to the pupil.  The professional acts as a mentor during all the sessions and pupils are invited to explore career options, pathways and their next steps toward future employment. Pupils at Kingussie with varied interests have been paired with the below professionals. Session will run to fit pupil and professionals schedules from now till early December. These sessions follow a structure to suit the pupils preference and are supported by an Education Liaison Officer to ensure the experience is the most positive it can be for all parties involved.

Industry professionals will gain:

a chance to share a passion for their career field
experience in working with young people
a chance to reflect on their own career path and current position.

Pupils will gain:

life skills of time keeping, timely task completion and networking
opportunity to be proactive in investigating their career aspirations
support bespoke to their particular needs.
broadened horizons in career options available.

For more information visit our Academy9 events page or contact us.

Julia Morris, Mechanical Engineer, Jacobs

I work as a mechanical engineer in the water industry for a company called Jacobs and I am a member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineering (IMechE). I work on the mechanical aspects of projects in wastewater treatment plants, clean water treatment plants and the sewer networks.

In a given week I might:

Visit a wastewater treatment site to investigate why their equipment isn’t performing (surveys and site testing) – this includes writing risk assessments and method statements for safe working while I am on site
Write a specification for new mechanical screens to pass to a supplier
Model a new pumping system in order to size the pumps for a flood protection scheme
Review a site 3D model with my team to make sure our designs are safe, function correctly and can be easily built and maintained

Mandy Wallace, Senior Environmental Scientist, Jacobs

My job can be very varied, and I am lucky to get the opportunity to work on various different projects undertaking different tasks.

My typical work activities include:

Environmental assessment and other technical tasks, all of which are related to the water environment
Project & water team management
Water team resourcing
Mentoring

Miriam Kirchberger, Social Value Consultant, Jacobs

Social value is what we describe as the positive social, environmental and economic impact our infrastructure projects can have have on the communities where the work is being carried out.

My work is very varied and includes:

Analysing local or national trends to understand what communities want and need
Forming relationships with local people, charities, businesses and others to work together to deliver social, economic and environmental priorities
Creating initiatives that will positively influence communities during a project and even after a project ends, e.g. by offering apprenticeship positions
Measuring the impact the initiatives have by, e.g. getting feedback from participants or adding up how many people participated