Give It a Go – Apprenticeship Awareness Day

45 S2 pupils recently attended Ayr College to increase their awareness and understanding of a variety of apprenticeships and pathways available to them when they leave school. The pupils gained an insight into various career opportunities including Engineering, Beauty Therapy, Hairdressing, Construction and Hospitality. They were most impressed by the passion and enthusiasm shown by the College lecturers as well as the fantastic facilities available to students. Thank you to Patricia Murray and her colleagues for making this an enjoyable and worthwhile experience for all.

Routes for all workshop

S6 pupils took part in the FOCUS West ‘Routes for all’ workshops. The activities are designed to be challenging but fun and they provide pupils with important skills for education and employment. Lecturers and university students from the University of Strathclyde also gave information; advice and guidance on practical issues relating to further and higher education. The pupils really enjoyed their day and found it very interesting and informative.

Mock Interview Success

  The S4 Mock Interview Programme, held at the Aviator Suite Prestwick Airport, was a tremendous success with 54 pupils from Doon, Cumnock and Auchinleck Academies selected for interview from an initial application process. Altogether 6 employers were represented: NHS, Barr Ltd, Craigengillan Estate, RAF, Play Scheme and ASDA. 3 pupils from each school were in direct competition for each post. As well as the interviews pupils received a very informative lecture on interview behaviour skills as well as psychometric testing and a tutorial on the new world of work website.

Out of the 6 posts Doon academy had success in 4. Congratulations to Frazer Buchanan – NHS Healthcare, Jordan Berretti – Craigengillan Administration, Michael Harvey – ASDAand Paige McMahon – Happydays Playscheme.

Well done to all the pupils who took part. Also thank you to Gillian Cameron at Ayrshire Chambers and all of the employers who gave up their valuable time to take part in the programme.

Cambridge visitor

Josh Jowitt, Schools Liaison Officer for the University of Cambridge visited Doon Academy to speak to S4 pupils about university life. After his talk Josh gave the pupils a problem solving exercise on building a tower from straws. Everyone enjoyed the session and found it very interesting and informative.

Careers Advice

West Forum recently launched the new Focus on Families website (www.westforum.org.uk/families). This online resource aims to help parents understand more about how their child can progress to further or higher education. The website continues to evolve in response to feedback from users, and we expect the site to grow further in future

Skills Development Show

Congratulations to S6 pupils Connie Hose and Kyle Stewart who have been selected to undertake a placement working on the radio with Eddy Gemmell of the Skills Development Scotland Careers Show – a radio programme dedicated to careers. They will have the opportunity to research content for the show; record interviews and even present live on-air. Their first gig is on Friday 25th March at the Careers Radio Show broadcast live from Kilmarnock College.

Cambridge shadowing

Congratulations to S5 pupil Kyle McCormick who has been selected to attend the University of Cambridge for a student shadowing programme in February. Kyle will reside at Cambridge and gain a taster of university life.

Skills Scotland

80 S4-S6 pupils attended the Skills Scotland Careers Event at the SECC Glasgow. Pupils had the opportunity to research and explore over 150 career areas and participated in interactive workshops. The event proved to be very successful and a worthwhile experience for the pupils.

SkillsScotland visit

S4/5/6 pupils will be visiting the Skills Scotland careers event at the SECC in Glasgow. There will be hands on interactive features to give pupils a taste of different future career options.

Hospital visit

Principal Teacher of Guidance Steven Kelly accompanied a group of 10 S5/6 students to Ayr Hospital for a NHS Awareness Day to find out about possible careers relating in the health industry.

Careers event

S4 summer school leavers attended a Careers Scotland and East Ayrshire event to assist them in their choices once they leave school.

"Routes for all" workshops

S5 pupils took part in the FOCUS West ‘Routes for All’ workshops. The activities are designed to be challenging but fun and they provide pupils with important skills for education and employment. Lecturers and university students from the University of Strathclyde also gave information; advice and guidance on practical issues relating to Further and Higher Education. The pupils really enjoyed their day and found it very interesting and informative.

Activate

Doon welcomes back Nancy Law from Careers Scotland who will take the ACTIVATE group for students. ACTIVATE helps students develop skills and obtain the knowledge to assist them in moving on from Doon Academy to further education or into employment.

Celebration of Success

Careers Activate Group will attend their Celebration of Success event at the Odeon Cinema, Kilmarnock. Mark Beaumont, Guinness world record holder for cycling the world will be joining them for the day to offer some words of inspiration.

BAE Systems

David Gubierrez from BAE Systems visited the French Department to present a talk about using French in their future careers. The pupils and staff really enjoyed Mr. Gubierrez’s talk and we thank him very much for visiting the school.

Careers Roadshow

The Business Education and ICT Department are at present busy organising a Careers Roadshow for S2 pupils. Various employers will provide workshops for pupils to experience what a career in their field would be like.

Careers Scotland Opportunity Fair

Some S5 pupils attended the Careers Scotland Opportunity Fair, which was held at the Volunteer Rooms in Irvine. The Fair was held to showcase career opportunities for pupils when they leave school.