Latest news with #MyWorldofWork
The Herald Scotland
26-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Careers advisers and parents have positive influence on Scots pupils
A survey of almost 3,000 recent school leavers from across Scotland shows that eight out of ten cited parents and carers as key influencers in their career decisions. More than half mentioned that their career adviser played a significant role. Almost two-thirds of young people from the most deprived areas in Scotland felt their careers adviser was a key influence. The research also revealed strong satisfaction with the careers advice young people received in school along with a desire for more support. The young people's career ambitions research from Skills Development Scotland (SDS) focused on recent school leavers. It provides insights on careers support; insights on school leavers' post-school preferences; influences on career decisions; future aspirations and expectations, as well as potential barriers. SDS runs the national career service with career advisers in schools across the country. Apart from SDS career support, young people are most likely to utilise online searches along with receiving support from teachers, lecturers, and guidance teachers at schools, colleges, or universities. The research also gathered views on the impact of the pandemic on career ambitions and the potential impact of artificial intelligence. On artificial intelligence, respondents gave mixed views with many saying it wouldn't affect their career choices or were unsure of its impact. Some expressed concerns about the artificial intelligence limiting job opportunities, providing inaccurate information or fostering a reliance on technology. However, others saw the potential to assist with tasks, generate ideas, and create new job opportunities. Pupils shared ambitions for careers across a range of sectors – with construction, engineering, creative industries and medicine or health coming out on top. Pay remained the most important factor for future careers, followed by job satisfaction, work-life balance, and learning new skills. Skills Development Scotland works with partners to understand the views of S1 to S6 pupils; parents and carers; and apprentices across Scotland. Partners who supported the young people's career ambitions research included Scottish Government, Developing the Young Workforce, Education Scotland, Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, College Development Network, Youthlink, Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Qualifications Authority, Edinburgh Napier University, Young Scot, and the Open University. Skills Development Scotland careers advisers work in partnership with every state secondary school in Scotland, delivering career information, advice and guidance to enable young people from S1-S6 to develop their career management skills. Throughout their time at school and beyond, pupils also gain information and support through My World of Work website, which is Scotland's online career information and advice service. There is also a dedicated area for parents and carers on My World of Work that offers information to help those career conversations with their young person, understand skills in demand from employers, and suggests ways to explore the different routes and pathways that young people can take. Beyond school, SDS advisers operate from a network of SDS centres and community locations nationwide, offering expert CIAG services to customers of all ages. Head of careers information advice and guidance at SDS, Dave McCallum, said: 'It's never been more important for young people to have expert and impartial careers advice. 'It's essential to understand the views of young people so that we can work together with parents and carers, schools and partners to provide the best possible support. The voice and experiences of young people are at the heart of everything we do. 'It is encouraging that young people have felt supported and motivated by the career services provided at school. We aim to continue building on this foundation.' Find out more about the Young People's Career Ambitions research within the Evaluation and Research area of the SDS website: Partnership gives Fife teens boost on the career ladder TWO female Fifers are building their construction careers thanks to a partnership between the local careers service and a major employer. Emily Morrison and Lara Montgomery were given the chance to gain work experience at the development site for the new Fife College Dunfermline Learning Campus, which has cemented their ambition to work in construction. The opportunities were created thanks to connections made between Skills Development Scotland (SDS) careers advisers in Fife and international infrastructure group Balfour Beatty. (Image: SDS Careers Adviser Emma Balfour; Lara Montgomery; Emily Morrison; Balfour Beatty's Bethany Welsh) Careers Adviser Emma Balfour knew the opportunity would be invaluable to both 17 year-old Emily and 16 year-old Lara, who she met as pupils at St Columba's High. Lara, now studying joinery at Fife College would get hands on experience whilst young carer Emily, who has just left school, was unsure about her future. Emma explained: 'In school, Lara came for advice and help around applying for college courses. Woodwork was the only subject she enjoyed and so she was keen to progress in that and we successfully worked together to get her a college place. After that, she visited me at the careers office to explain that, whilst she liked her course, she wanted to know if there were other options open to her within construction. 'Emily didn't feel like she fitted in at school. I would often meet with her at other locations and built up a good relationship with her, setting her up with a Young Carers Card and helping her apply for a part time job at McDonalds. Whilst she knew she would like to do something practical as a career, she didn't have any qualifications to apply for college. I thought the experience at the campus would give her a fantastic insight into construction careers.' Both teens jumped at the chance and Emily, from Kelty, gained two weeks experience on site while Lara, from Dunfermline, was able to fit in four days of work around her studies. Emily said: 'I was going to leave school with no plan. I was so confused and I didn't have a clue about my future until I spoke to Emma. She thought a hands-on job would suit me, but I'd never thought of construction before, even though my dad thought I would do well in that type of work.' Lara said: 'Getting this chance through Emma and Balfour Beatty was amazing and it has helped me to realise that I'm on the right career path.' During their time on site, Emily and Lara experienced the wide range of roles involved in the project to show the variety of jobs available within construction. Emily and Lara were accredited by the Engineering Development Trust, to acknowledge their achievements, and their efforts have also led to both getting offers of paid work experience from Balfour Beatty. Bethany Welsh, Balfour Beatty's Social Impact Advisor who oversaw the placements, said: 'We are proud to have supported the development of emerging talent through the Dunfermline campus project, providing valuable opportunities for young female professionals to grow within the industry. 'Through close collaboration with our team, Lara and Emily have demonstrated outstanding commitment, enthusiasm, and adaptability, seamlessly integrating into the workplace. As we near the project's completion, we remain dedicated to fostering future opportunities and supporting the next generation of talent in the sector.' Pupils can speak to their SDS careers adviser at school and, for careers support at any age, visit or call 0800 917 8000 to find out about support in your area
The Herald Scotland
30-04-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Young Scots have everything to play for in the green energy sector
Find a Fixer puts school pupils in the driving seat of real-world problems, often faced within the green energy sector. Created in partnership by Energy Transition Zone Ltd (ETZ) and Skills Development Scotland (SDS), Find a Fixer aims to broaden pupils' perceptions on what it means to work in a low-carbon energy job. The game presents players with scenarios from a range of industries, challenging them to take on the role of project manager and work out who is the best expert to solve each problem. Scenarios include exporting hydrogen fuel, opening new carbon capturing sites and designing new parts for wind turbines. The game highlights career paths for all skillsets – from engineers and business analysts to designers, town planners and wellbeing officers – demonstrating the breadth of career opportunities within the sector. The new mini-game is part of Classroom Clash, a careers-based gaming platform used in schools to stimulate career conversations. Classroom Clash was created as part of SDS's My World of Work Live programme and has thousands of players each month. Linda Innes, manager of the SDS My World of Work Live team, said: 'Find a Fixer is a welcome addition to the My World of Work Live programme. Introducing career opportunities through gamification is a brilliant way to get pupils thinking about their future in a new way. We know this is going to be a popular game with pupils – and their careers advisers!' Lauren Braidwood, senior skills manager at ETZ, added: 'We are delighted to have partnered with SDS to make this game a reality and help demystify energy sector jobs for young people. There's a whole world of exciting energy careers out there, and this fun new tool will help inspire our next generation of energy workers.' The new game was developed by software development company Animmersion, who helped to create Classroom Clash. Educators across Scotland can bring the world of work to life for their pupils by playing the online games on My World of Work, Scotland's career information and advice website. After playing the new Classroom Clash game, pupils can celebrate their success by uploading their results to their achievements library on the site. Launched in June 2024, the 'My Achievements' tool enables pupils to capture and reflect on their achievements and identify their skills, which can help them build confidence, develop their strengths and stay motivated as they work towards their goals. Achievements for young people come in all shapes and sizes and they can add anything they're proud of, from learning about interesting jobs whilst playing a Classroom Clash game, to organising a charity bake sale, passing an exam, or climbing a Munro – there's so much for young people to celebrate, from all learning and education settings. Along with uploading their achievements, pupils can also start building their own personal learner profile on My World of Work. The digital space supports young people to understand and articulate their achievements, skills, and learning. Developed by SDS and Education Scotland, the learner profile is the national, free digital solution to profiling achievements, used in schools across the country. The solutions were co-designed with hundreds of learners and educators across Scotland, with innovative ideas from young people influencing and shaping the final product. Learner profiles are also owned by the individual user and transition with them through their learner journey, from primary school through to adulthood, helping them reflect on their successes when applying for college, university, apprenticeships or jobs. To make it easier to use all the features and tools on My World of Work, the website now offers a translation tool. It can be instantly translated into 16 different languages, including Chinese, Arabic, and Polish, helping young people, parents and carers who use English as an additional language to access the information and support they need. Explore learner profiles and achievements and more career tools for people of all ages at ------------------------------------ Investment energises careers in Highlands and Islands region A MULTI-BILLION pound investment in the Highlands and Islands was the subject of a summit bringing together key players in the region's economy earlier this month. Inverness played host to the Highlands and Islands Workforce Summit to examine how the region can build a resilient and skilled workforce capable of capitalising on a range of investment opportunities across a number of key and growth sectors. Hosted by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) alongside partners including Highland Council, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) and employer body Prosper, the summit explored co-investment strategies for upskilling and retraining, attracting talent, bridging skills gaps, and strengthening collaboration between the public and private sectors. (Image: apprentice Alasdair Gillies works for Inverness-based renewable energy systems firm Proterra Energy) Frank Mitchell, Chair of SDS, said: 'The Highlands and Islands is on the cusp of a transformative opportunity due to record levels of industry investment in the next decade. However, to ensure this investment delivers lasting benefit for our communities and businesses, we need to significantly increase the availability of workers with the right skills in the region. 'This summit is bringing businesses together to agree actions to grow the workforce that will enhance the short and long-term prosperity, productivity and wellbeing of the region.' Research from HIE and the Highlands and Islands Regional Economic Partnership is currently being finalised for publication in the coming weeks. Preliminary findings suggest that investment in sectors including offshore renewables, port infrastructure, pumped hydro storage and transmission upgrades could be worth tens of billions of pounds over the next 10 to 15 years. More than 60 key figures from across the region attended the summit and heard from speakers including Allie Walker, Director of HR at SSEN Transmission. She said: 'We're investing £20billion to upgrade the transmission network across the north of Scotland by 2030 to deliver an electricity grid that unlocks Scotland's potential to be a clean energy powerhouse. 'A key element of that programme of work is investing in our people, ensuring we have the right skills within our teams to deliver an ambitious and transformative project for Scotland. 'This summit is a welcome opportunity to work with others in making sure the region and its people benefit from this in the years to come.' The summit examined how co-investment could help address challenges facing the regional economy by attracting new people to the region and upskilling the existing workforce. Martin Johnson, director of strategy and regional economy with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) said: 'Scotland's economy stands to benefit massively from an unprecedented wave of opportunity that is centred on new developments across the Highlands and Islands. 'Over the coming years, it will be more important than ever that government, public bodies and private investors work together effectively to maximise the region's potential. 'By taking a collaborative approach, we aim to ensure positive impacts are delivered for all parts of the Highlands and Islands, and workforce skills will be vital to underpin success.' Partners involved in delivering the summit will be presenting proposals at the Spring 2025 meeting of the Convention of the Highlands and Islands.
