The partnership will be a key part of the national effort to deliver Scottish Careers Week 2024, helping thousands of people across the country understand their career choices and options.
The campaign, coordinated by Skills Development Scotland, is now in its fourth year and runs under the theme “Shaping the Future”.
Schools, employers, careers practitioners and advocates can join in celebrating the power of careers support this year, showcasing exciting industries and opportunities, including green careers, and building a brighter future for all.
Activities will be held to help parents and carers understand the study and career options available to young people.
Parent and carer support group Connect, in partnership with Skills Development Scotland, is hosting national online information sessions this week.
Connect supports parents, carers and parent groups to engage and participate in their children’s learning and school life in a way that suits them.
The free webinar, taking place on Tuesday 12 November at 7pm, will share the range of opportunities available to young people as they make choices at school, think about careers and plan their next steps.
During the session, careers advisers will explain SDS careers service support, including the My World of Work website and resources for young people, parents and carers. They will also be provided with information on apprenticeships and where to find the latest job vacancies. Another aim of the campaign is to help people from different backgrounds and abilities understand the opportunities and support available to them in pursuing a career.
This Tuesday, SDS careers advisors will be providing information, advice and guidance to young people who are deaf at a jobs event run by the British Association of Deaf People.
The day-long event will focus on apprenticeships, interviews and skills workshops.
National charity SmartWorks Scotland will also be running a careers event in partnership with SDS in Glasgow on 13 November during Scottish Careers Week, providing coaching for women featuring interview and skills workshops, as well as information about SmartWorks’ free interview preparation service, which provides free clothing for the workplace.
Job fair event at Grangemouth High School
Giving young people the opportunity to gain an understanding of the skills needed for work and the opportunities within and beyond their local community is a key part of Scottish Careers Week, and events will be held in schools and local community spaces across the country to support the campaign.
Students will also have the opportunity to hear from young people working in some of Scotland’s most important sectors in DYW Live’s new series of inspiring online talks.
The programme of short online sessions has been organised in collaboration with SDS, e-Sgoil and Education Scotland.
The sessions will be available to watch on the DYW Live Scottish Careers Week page and will see people from sectors including engineering, digital, tourism and science share their career journeys and work experiences.
As a national organization that connects employers and educational institutions, Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) is also involved in a variety of activities that support local schools.
DYW representatives and school coordinators will work with SDS and other partners, including employers, to organize events such as job fairs and information sessions.
During the election period there will be many more opportunities to find out about working in Scotland’s departments.
Events such as Perth and Kinross Council’s Youth Climate Conference will be held during the week, supporting the aim of showcasing green job careers during the campaign.
Midlothian Council, with support from SDS and other partners, will be hosting a Life and Chemical Sciences Careers Fair on Thursday 14th November.
Aimed at teachers, educators and young people, the event aims to raise awareness of the wide range of careers and industries within the life and chemical sciences sector across central and south-east Scotland.
Information about Scottish Careers Week events, including the Connect webinar on 12 November, and how to register to take part can be found on the campaign events calendar in the News and Events section of the SDS website, and supporters can also register their own activities to attract participants.
For more information about Scottish Careers Week and how you can get involved, visit myworldofwork.co.uk/scottish-careers-week
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Aberdeen-based company adds depth to employee skillset
An Aberdeen-based business has developed a new online training academy for its staff with funding from the Inward Investment Skills Fund.
Kraken Robotics is a Canada-based, Aberdeen-based marine technology company that performs offshore underwater surveys primarily for the wind sector.
The company also sells systems to the military, primarily used in mine detection operations. The company has 32 employees in Aberdeen, a mix of office-based and overseas staff.
(Image: Ross Johnston)
Chief commercial officer Lynn Adu said: “The technology we use was originally intended for the oil and gas sector but has been successfully transferred to the wind sector.
“Our sonar surveys the seafloor and sub-sea floor, using high-resolution 3D sensors to image the seafloor and conditions below.
“If someone is planning an offshore wind farm, we can tell them what is buried under the seabed. For example, unexploded ordnance can be a big hazard close to shore.”
Before the company developed its bespoke online training academy in Scotland, every time it recruited a new geologist, the scientist had to travel to its headquarters in Canada for training.
Lyn says: “Scottish Enterprise told me about the Inward Investment Skills Fund (IISF) and they then introduced me to Heather Milne from Skills Development Scotland (SDS), who acted as my main contact and supported me through the application process.”
IISF is working to deliver the Scottish Government’s inward investment plan, ‘Shaping Scotland’s Economy’, by providing funding and support to reskill and upskill employees where mainstream provision does not exist elsewhere.
The fund is aimed at businesses headquartered outside Scotland who want to invest in Scotland and create or secure jobs. The fund aims to support businesses to develop and deliver innovative skills training.
“This funding has really helped us develop our training program, which is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time,” says Lin. “When I heard about this fund, I knew it would help us make this program a reality by helping develop the training.”
“We call it the ‘Kraken Academy’ – a series of online modules that staff can take depending on their role within the company.
“It also includes assessments that are carried out after the completion of the modules.
“The cost and time savings from developing the Academy are enormous. We continue to build and develop our programs. It has been a great change for our business. It is a more professional approach to tracking staff training and competence and helps us demonstrate our capabilities to clients.”
“Since being introduced to Heather at SDS, we have also employed two Modern Apprentices and they are going well – both of whom are young talents we hope will become superstars in the future.”
Heather Milne, growth and inward investment manager at SDS, said: “We’re thrilled that IISF has supported the development of Kraken Academy, making a real difference in access to training for new and existing employees. We look forward to continuing to work with Kraken Robotics to support their skills needs.”
Mr Lin added: “We plan to apply for the fund again this year as we want to expand our modules to include training for more service lines. We are also looking to expand the academy further to provide training for clients to familiarise them with our systems.”
For more information about skills support for your business, visit employees.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk or call 0800 783 600.
skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk