Employability Week 2019
The week of the 25 – 29 November was Our Lady’s first Employability Week which saw all classes focus on subject specific careers, employability skills and pathways. This is a key part of our Developing the Young Workforce Strategy as we ensure that our young people are equipped with the skills and the knowledge they need to play an active part in the world of work.
Our “Work Ready” strategy was launched and all classes became more knowledgeable about what we do across Our Lady’s to promote careers and employability skills. This strategy is now on display across all classes!
Career Lessons
A huge amount of work took place this week across departments; from visiting speakers to workplace trips.
All activities focused on skills and careers and allowed pupils to find out some more information about the labour market.
Social Subjects:
All S3 pupils were visited by Billy Fitzpatrick who spoke with pupils about the role of the Police and Crime and Justice. He focused on important skills such as problem solving and communication. S3 Modern Studies pupils also completed a Job Task where they took on a role such as Journalist, Criminologist, Police Officer and Judge. They researched each role and found out about how it links to the subject! S1/2 Pupils completed a skills treasure hunt, where they focused on key historical and fictional characters. Pupils were fantastic throughout!
Business and Admin:
S1 ICT worked on My World of Work while S2 completed a Visit Scotland enterprise activity. They researched the work of Visit Scotland and then designed a new logo, they also had to identify the skills they had used in this activity.
S3 Computing and Admin classes were visited by PC Punter who spoke to classes about the use of ICT skills in different careers
S5 Admin/Games/Business focused on thinking about the skills they have developed in the subject and how they can be relevant to the world of work, they also did some research on My World of Work about different industries and careers and then into specific jobs.
Ex pupil, Thomas Darling also spoke to pupils about applying to university and working in Finance/Accountancy.
St Andrew’s Day Coffee Morning
S3 Personal Development pupils organised a fantastic coffee morning for St Andrew’s day during Employability Week. They organised lots of lovely treats, invitations and decorated the library! A lovely morning was had by all!
S6 Subject Champions
Our S6 Subject Champions and My World of Work Ambassadors had a huge role to play in Employability Week. After undergoing training with our careers advisor Rosalynn Robinson, our S6 Subject Champions created lessons for S4 pupils which focused on the career management skills associated with their subject, as well as the associated pathways and employability skills. S6 pupils delivered these lessons to all S4 classes very confidently and also created fantastic career management skill posters which are on display across the school. Our Subject Champions have taken on many lead roles this year so far, having already presented to P7 pupils and parents. They will continue their role by organising a Subject Champion Day to help our S2 pupils personalise their option choices.
Careers Event
Our second career event took place on Friday 29th of November, with over 30 exhibitors present. All S4 – S6 pupils had the opportunity to visit stalls from Barrs, Police Scotland, Fire and Rescue, JP Morgan, The Army and Royal Navy and many many more. The exhibitors were able to inform our pupils of the career pathways available to them and the skills required to be successful, and they were very impressed with the knowledge and questions posed by our pupils. Professionals including Surgeons, Nurses and Dentists were also in attendance, sharing their experiences and advice with regards to their careers. We are very grateful to our exhibitors who gave up their time to benefit our young people!
Mock Interviews
Our annual Mock Interviews took place on Wednesday the 27th of November. Pupils had been preparing for these in Health and Wellbeing and were able to experience a one to one interview with a local employer. This was an invaluable employability skill gained by our pupils and our thanks to Ms Sharkey and her team who organised the event.
Employability Events
Generation Tech 2019
Generation Tech is an exciting technology design challenge hosted by J.P. Morgan for female students studying National 5 mathematics interested in a STEM career. Using technology prototyping tools and their own creativity, students were supported by JP Morgan Technologists, to design an app to address a ‘social good’ challenge. Congratulations to Alannah Littlejohns, Ellie O’Reilly, Heather Stirling and Ciara McGrath who were excellent ambassadors for our school.
Step Into Stem 2019
Following on from last years Big Bang Event, a group of S2 pupils attended the NLC STEM event for 2019 at Cumbernauld College. The day was made up of various interactive workshops such as Vex Robotics, All About Animation, Programming, Crime Solving, Pit Stop Challenge, Dental and many more. The pupils reported that they had a fantastic day and had practical opportunities to learn more about potential career pathways. This will help to inform them in preparation for their S2 options.
Dragons Lair
S3 Business pupils had the opportunity to create their won product which they presented to the class. Each class then voted for the best idea and these two teams went forward to the regional round where they met with business owners and representatives from business gateway. Each team had to prepare a business plan for their idea and present it to the panel. Out of 25 teams, 5 were picked for the final, with our own Jake Fiddler one of the finalists. Jake presented his idea again to councillors, staff, pupils, parents and business owners and enhanced his employability skills throughout.
Digi explorers
S3 Computing Science pupils spent the day at Easter Road stadium in Edinburgh taking part in workshops to enhance their coding skills. Each group got the opportunity to code a robot to make it follow commands! They then attended presentations on all of the different career opportunities within the computing industry.
Girls into engineering
Rosie Boyce, Tea Boyd, Louisa Gibson, Rachel Reilly and Emma McCurrach attended the training facility at EKGTA for an engineering/manufacturing event for girls. This event was part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week. The facility in East Kilbride was showing girls the different avenues into manufacturing and engineering industries. The girls had an excellent day visiting the facility, subsequently some of the girls are pursuing a career in this field.
