Students gain skills to succeed

Organised by the College’s Careers Department in conjunction with Young Enterprise Northern Ireland, the workshop asked students the question: ‘how prepared are you for the future?’ Putting the students’ GCSE studies and post-16 decisions into the context of preparing for the world of work, developing employability skills and trying to give themselves that extra ‘edge’ to help them get their dream job.

The workshop, led by Gail Hamilton of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland, aimed to help students to improve their employability skills and capabilities for life at school, for their careers and for the world of work. Activities carried out in groups included an opportunity for students to analyse their own learning styles, explore employment opportunities, and get to grips with some of the realities of career development, such as completing application forms and experiencing a job interview situation. Students were also given the opportunity to consider their own strengths and areas of interest, and match these to potential career areas.

Miss Maria Flannelly, Head of Careers at Loreto College, and Mrs Sinead McNicholl, Employability Co-ordinator, agreed that the workshop had been a very valuable opportunity for the students to put their GCSE studies into the context of preparation for the world of work and to assess their own qualities and aspirations with a future career plan in mind. Mr Michael James, College Principal, paid tribute to Miss Flannelly and Mrs McNicholl as well as to Gail Hamilton of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland, adding that they had run an event of tremendous benefit and value to all Year 12 students.