Determined to Succeed national update - Autumn '09

Welcome to the Determined to Succeed national update.

In this issue we welcome four new team members to the Determined to Succeed national team and two secondees to Learning and Teaching Scotland to support us on embedding enterprise within Curriculum for Excellence.

Also covered is the range of national events we are running including our National Gathering for local authority Determined to Succeed teams; an update on our Celebration of Scotland’s Enterprising Young People throughout November; and our three day international Conference, which is shaping up nicely.

There’s a fair bit of news regarding the range of resources we have available to support learning and teaching as well as activity to stimulate further employer engagement.  Sustainability is key and we must all bear this in mind as we take the enterprise in education agenda forward, ensuring fully embedding within Curriculum for Excellence remains central to our thinking and actions.

I will look forward to seeing many of you at the National Gathering but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy the update!

Many thanks for your continued support.

Isla McCrone Head of Determined to Succeed

 

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Contents

Staffing

Four new members of staff have joined the Determined to Succeed national team. Kirsty Blair and Bob McGowan have been appointed as Senior Advisers to enhance the Local Authority Support Team. They will also lead on the development and delivery of some of the national policy commitments. Sandra Bell and Jason Birch have been appointed as Senior Adviser (Employer Engagement) and Employer Engagement Officer, respectively, and will support employer engagement nationally across the Enterprise and Employability for Young People agenda.

Two new seconded staff have been appointed to work with Learning and Teaching Scotland to support enterprise in education within Curriculum for Excellence.  Elaine Duncan joins as Enterprise in Education Development Officer and Helen Lang joins as World of Work Online Coordinator.

Further information from: isla.mccrone@scotland.gsi.gov.uk.

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National Events

National Gathering

Our National Gathering - for all local authority staff working on Determined to Succeed - will be held on 26/27 October at the Macdonald Holyrood Hotel, Edinburgh.  Details were issued recently in an SG Comms and if you haven’t already done so please ensure you book your place. 

Further information from: jean.macmillan@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Excellence through Enterprise – 3 Day International Conference

Our International Conference will take place in Edinburgh from 15 to 18 November and the programme and attendance list are shaping up nicely.  We need the help of local authorities and others to make sure the conference truly reflects Excellence through Enterprise.  Full details of how to get involved were sent to local authorities in an SG Comms on the 21 September.  If you haven’t already done so please let us know how you can support the conference. 

Further information from: kirsty.blair@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

A Celebration of Scotland's Enterprising Young People 2009

Preparations are well underway for this year’s Celebration of Scotland’s Enterprising Young People, which will take place throughout November.  During each of the themed weeks, Determined to Succeed will be hosting national events across the country.  This year we are delighted to announce these events include representation from all 32 local authorities plus Jordanhill School.  Details of the themed weeks and national events are listed below.

Science and Technology Week (2 - 8 November)
We will be working in partnership with Young Enterprise Scotland to deliver five Enterprising Inventors Challenge events in 15 local authorities.  These events will see primary 7 pupils work in teams to modernise famous Scottish inventions.  The winning team from each regional event will be invited to a national final on 26 November to compete for the title of overall champion.

Communications Week (9 – 15 November)
We are expanding the Cub Reporter Challenge this year, running it in 8 local authorities.  The journalism challenge will see young people submit written articles with Scotland as the theme.  The entries will be judged by an expert panel and the best entry in each area will be given a work placement with their local paper.  During their placement the winners will learn how the newspaper operates and will also be tasked with interviewing a local business person.  They will then have to write an article based on the interview which will be published in the paper.  We will also be running our first ever Homecoming Debate during Communications Week.  Young people from Glasgow, Jordanhill and Dundee will take part in regional debates before they come together to compete in a national final.

Global Entrepreneurship Week (16 – 22 November)
The annual Make Your Mark Challenge will be launched on Monday 16 November and is open to all secondary schools in Scotland.  The enterprise-related Challenge aims to develop young people’s team working, communication and problem solving skills. For the first time this year, Determined to Succeed will be facilitating the Challenge across two categories: 14-16 year olds and 16-19 year olds.  The Challenge is to come up with a product, service or event in response to a brief set by Make Your Mark.  Each entry will be judged by Determined to Succeed and the best entries in each category will be invited to participate in a Scottish final on 26 November, where each team will be required to present their idea, along with competitor and financial information, to a panel of judges in Dragon’s Den style.  The overall winner from each category will then represent Scotland in a UK final in London in December.  For more information on the Challenge and to register to take part, please visit www.makeyourmarkchallenge.org.uk

Also during Global Entrepreneurship Week, Determined to Succeed will be piloting the Coca Cola Enterprise Challenge in a variety of local authorities.  The Challenge will see pupils in S3 work in teams of six to design a new, sugar-free, fruit flavoured soft drink in an eco-friendly 500ml drinks container.  Coca Cola Enterprise will provide a full brief to the teams and then entries will be submitted electronically before being judged by a panel of representatives.  The top ten entries received from across the country will be invited to attend a national final on 20 November where they will compete head to head with other teams.

Scotland’s Past, Culture and Heritage Week (23 – 29 November)
On 26 November young people from across the country will come together at the Glasgow Science Centre to compete in the finals of our national events.  The final of the Enterprising Inventors Challenge and the Make Your Mark Challenge will take place simultaneously and end our month of celebrations.

These national events give a snapshot of the type of events that will be happening in local authorities and schools across the country.  November provides an opportunity to celebrate the enterprising activities schools, local authorities, employers and the community are involved in throughout the year.  As in previous years the success of our celebrations is down to the hard work of the local authority Determined to Succeed teams and the schools themselves.  We have updated our ‘Source of Inspiration’ resource to help support you in the development of your own events.

Further information from: lorna.donnelly@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or suzanne.clark@smarts.co.uk

Learning Sets

The recent survey of local authority Determined to Succeed teams, conducted by Smarts, identified a number of suggestions for Learning Sets.  Front runners were: Skills for Life and Work and Embedding Enterprise in Education within Curriculum for Excellence.  These Learning Sets will be taken forward and in the first instance we would welcome any interesting practice you have identified in your area to be brought to the attention of Jean Macmillan who will be happy to discuss this with you.
Further information from: jean.macmillan@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Scottish Learning Festival

Enterprise in Education was threaded throughout the Scottish Learning Festival with opportunities for delegates to engage in discussion and reflection through a number of seminars, showcases and discussions. It is increasingly clear that education staff appreciate the importance of enterprise when working towards Curriculum for Excellence.  Delegates were able to hear about how enterprise can be embedded within the curriculum, how partnerships with employers will enrich and contextualise learning and help to motivate and enthuse young people.  A new resource - An Enterprising Approach to Self-Evaluation was also launched.  The development of both enterprise and employability skills was addressed throughout the two day event and Fiona Hyslop Cabinet Secretary for Education spoke eloquently of the importance of developing skills in our young people in her keynote address.
Further information from:  gordon.brown3@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

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Resources

'Enterprise’

There have been a number of events and celebrations taking place recently to mark the achievements of our young people and the partners who support them. The next edition of ‘Enterprise’ - our newsletter for teachers and school staff - will highlight just a handful of examples of the successful work happening all over Scotland. Our theme of ‘Success’ features articles on this year’s winners of the Determined to Succeed categories at the Scottish Education Awards; the winning companies at the Young Enterprise and Social Enterprise Awards; and a wealth of local activity recognising the successful employer partnerships across Scotland.  Our aim is to inspire and share the enterprising approaches teachers are taking to deliver Curriculum for Excellence.

Further information from: lorna.donnelly@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Learning and Teaching Scotland website

The Learning and Teaching Scotland website has had several new enterprise in education articles and case studies added recently, sharing practice on a variety of themes and projects. Details can be found on the Enterprise Sharing Practice website. A new downloadable online template for enterprise in education articles and case studies is now available to submit examples of interesting practice within Curriculum for Excellence. The new template includes hyperlinks to guidelines on writing for the web, permission forms and other online case studies for help and ideas.

For those who are looking for some advice on how to navigate their way around the website a simple PowerPoint can be found on the Learning and Teaching Scotland Enterprise in Education homepage which has relevant links.

A new national enterprise in education Glow site has been created and all practitioners are encouraged to engage with it.  A variety of resources and websites are already on the site as well as several different Glow groups for staff to share ideas and conversations. Staff wishing to engage with Glow will need their own login and password which will be supplied by their local authority. 

Further information from: E.Duncan@LTScotland.org.uk 

Connected

The new edition of Learning and Teaching Scotland’s magazine; ‘Connected’ is now available and can be downloaded.

The latest edition has many interesting enterprise articles including ITunes Educational videos and resources for downloading, Youth Achievement Awards, 2009 Scottish School Magazine award, partnership working on Glow and the latest information on Curriculum Overview.

Further information from: e.duncan@LTScotland.org.uk

Day by Day Enterprise Matters Planner

The Day by Day Enterprise Matters Planner has been issued to all schools, parent councils and initial teacher education institutions. An online copy is available within the Learning and Teaching Scotland enterprise web section.  Several teachers have given free resources they have developed for some of the days highlighted in the planner.  This year some of these are highlighted on the website.

Further information from: E.Duncan@LTScotland.org.uk

Poppyscotland

Poppyscotland, a charity which supports veterans and their dependants in Scotland, launched their new teaching materials on the 14 September at the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh.  The resources where created in partnership with Determined to Succeed and Learning and Teaching Scotland. They build on last years resources and are aimed at early years and lower primary level, with refreshed materials for upper primary through to S2. The resources have been specifically designed to support experiences and outcomes of Curriculum for Excellence.

Poppyscotland also launched an exciting new schools competition; ‘Poppy Poetry’ in conjunction with Learning and Teaching Scotland and the Scottish Poetry Library.

Poppy Poetry is a poetry writing competition for school children in Scotland, divided into two age groups; P4-7 and S1-3. Stimulus for the competition is provided in the form of conflict photography by Robert Wilson, a respected Scottish war photographer, from his current work with British troops in Baghdad, Iraq, and Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

The importance of ‘Remembrance’ is the keynote of the Poppy Poetry competition; “why we should remember, why we should be thankful for the contribution of our armed forces and the meaning of the sacrifices they make on our behalf.”

For more information on the education project, poetry competition, or to download materials go to: www.poppyscotland.org.uk/education

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Employer Engagement

Determined to Succeed brochures and website

We are currently revising the Determined to Succeed employer brochure and website (www.determinedtosucceed.co.uk) to make these important resources less policy specific and more focused on encouraging employers to engage in developing the enterprise and employability skills of young people.  This will also involve aligning the look and feel more with Curriculum for Excellence – 3-18 where ever the learning is taking place – working towards supporting sustainability.   The website will be specifically targeted at employers and be sympathetic to the UK ‘Talent Map’, which aims to simplify the talent and skills landscape for employers (see http://www.uktalentmapproject.org.uk/). We are also developing specific brochures to encourage public and third sector employers to get involved.  We will  communicate further to local authorities via SG Comms once the brochures are available.

Further information from: sandra.bell@scotland.gsi.gov.uk 

Advertising campaign

As part of our broader employer engagement efforts we recently undertook a small advertising campaign during May and September.  The aim of the campaign was to encourage employer engagement - through Determined to Succeed - to support Curriculum for Excellence.  Through working closely with Scotland's main business organisations we aligned the message we communicated in adverts to fit with the needs of employers at this time.  We received responses from employers across various sectors and are currently following these up nationally.  Once we have ascertained the nature and level of their interest, we will be facilitating introductions with relevant local authorities to progress their engagement with an identified school(s).

Further information from: lorna.donnelly@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Partnership with Employers - Resource

The Partnership with Employers resource on the Learning and Teaching Scotland website has been developed further with the addition of two e-learning modules, which are now live.

The first e-learning module, ‘Partnership with Employers,’ will support staff in developing an understanding of partnership and has made use of the existing video footage to provide testimony on a range of aspects of partnership. The second e-learning module ‘Have you got what it takes?’ is designed to inspire and enthuse young people about wealth creation and entrepreneurialism.

Both modules are ready to be used with staff and young people and there are plans in place to further develop them through the production of support materials to maximise their use and impact.

Further information from: jean.macmillan@scotland.gsi.gov.uk 

Partnership with Employers – Evaluation of national training programme

The first stage of the evaluation, eliciting the views of Education Development Officers (EDOs) involved in the training, is now complete and details have been provided through an SG Comms.  Responses are currently being sought from teachers who have been involved in the training events. Many thanks to all EDOs who completed the evaluation and we look forward to your support in this next stage.

Further information from: jean.macmillan@scotland.gsi.gov.uk 

Excellence in Education through Business Links (EEBL) event

The ‘Passing the Baton’ event was held on 20 August and heralded the transfer in ownership of EEBL from Skills Development Scotland to Local Authorities.  Issues around delivery were discussed and many solutions identified. The information and outcomes of the event will be sent to all Local Authorities shortly.

Further information from: jean.macmillan@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Determined to Succeed Award for Outstanding Partnership Working with a School

2009 marks the third year we have sponsored the Determined to Succeed Award for Outstanding Partnership Working with a School(s) at the Scottish Council for Development and Industry's (SCDI) prestigious Annual Dinner and Awards.

The Award reflects the crucial role employers from the private, public and voluntary sectors play in enhancing the educational experience for young people. Employers help to contextualise learning and make it more relevant to life beyond school - developing in young people skills for learning, skills for life and skills for work.

It is important we identify a worthy winner for this important award so if you haven’t already could each local authority please nominate one organisation that has developed the best partnership with a school or schools in your area to be consider for the Award.  Details were recently communicated via an SG comms and the closing date for nominations is Friday 2 October.

Further information from: lorna.donnelly@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Determined to Succeed Director Award for Developing Young People

Determined to Succeed is once again sponsoring the Director Award for Developing Young People.  The winner of which will be announced at the Awards Ceremony & Dinner on Thursday 11 March 2010 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Edinburgh.

This award reflects the individual (working in the public, private or voluntary sector) who has contributed significantly in helping develop and prepare young people for work and life beyond the classroom. Please give consideration for any suitable candidates you may wish to enter.  Full details on all the categories and how to submit a nomination will be available shortly on the IOD website (www.iodscotland.com).

Further information from: lorna.donnelly@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Scottish Business in the Community

We continue our work with Scottish Business in the Community (SBC) to further encourage employers to engage with the enterprise and employability for young people agenda.  Through this partnership we are able to engage and consult with a range of organisations large and small through their Talent and Skills Leadership Group.  SBC will be running another Talent Summit on 13 November this time in Glasgow, to communicate to employers the benefits of engaging with those further from the labour market.

Further information from: sandra.bell@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

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Virtual Work Experience

The VWE resource is now being actively promoted by Learning and Teaching Scotland to schools, local authorities and centres across Scotland.  Practitioners are being encouraged to see the resource in the context of Curriculum for Excellence - “skills for work” and it is in this context schools are finding the resource most useful.  A writers group has now been set up to create learning and teaching materials for the new progression awards in Enterprise and Employability which will make direct use of the VWE site resource.

A formal evaluation of the resource is scheduled to take place during September/October 2009 with a preliminary report being available by December.

Further information from: E.Duncan@LTScotland.org.uk

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Enterprising Initial Teacher Education

A defined Glow group has now been established for students in Initial Teacher Education to share ideas and discussions and will hopefully help support the delivery of enterprise during their teaching practice.

All first year and PGCE students this year will again receive a copy of the Day by Day Enterprise Matters Planner.  The planner will also be made available online for access by all other students along with support ideas and discussions.

Further information from: E.Duncan@LTScotland.org.uk

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Co-operate to Succeed

The Co-Operative Education Trust Scotland’s (CETS) resource; ‘Enterprise with Ethics’ has been made available online for all practitioners as a PDF document to download for free in our resources section on the Learning and Teaching Scotland website – find resources.

This is a stimulating teaching aid, which promotes ethics within enterprise in schools and offers curricular ties within Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes. With the aim to highlight the differences between Co ops, Social Enterprise and PLCs, the pack includes co-operation and leadership activities as well as co-operative and social enterprise business case studies within Scotland.

Further information from: hugh.donnelly@cets.coop

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Transform

Six Transform projects have been completed throughout Scotland this year. Schools and communities from Dumfries, Dunfermline, Barrhead, Elgin, Kirkwall, Orkney and Thurso all participated in the programme, resulting in six amazing pieces of theatre.

In Dumfries a company of over 100 performed in a disused maintenance garage, in Dunfermline a derelict factory played host to art installations and a promenade performance, in Barrhead the local juniors’ football pitch became the stage for a cast of over 200 to tell their stories, in Elgin a speigeltent was erected and stage managed by the pupils of Elgin High School to perform the ‘Carnival of Unfortunate Stories’.

In Kirkwall a new arts centre was built to house an installation and the show received a five star review and a royal visit. In Thurso a cast of 170 took over the town and led an audience of 150 around six venues to hunt for a missing girl.

Transform has reached a multitude and has engaged pupils and community members in creative and practical tasks that not only support Curriculum for Excellence, but give genuine hands-on experience of technical, design, marketing, media, administration and event organisation aspects of creating theatre.

Pupils from all the schools involved were also able to join the technical crews and wardrobe department and were given real jobs to do in order to get the show on the road.  The professionalism shown was second to none and the reviews of the shows contained in the national papers are testimony of that.

The pupils always formed the bulk of the cast, mixing with older members of the community and being trained in several disciplines such as creative writing, dance, parkour, devising and acting.   

All participating schools have remarked on the transformation in their pupils.  One head teacher was quoted on camera saying 'These kids have matured now and will be expecting a lot more from themselves and us. I think some of us may find that challenging and we will need to raise our game.'  Another assistant head was quoted as saying “We drive on about attainment, attainment ……. it’s plain to see now that we need creativity as well.  I am so impressed at how these pupils have managed their responsibility to both and now have a mature approach to getting things done.”

The next two TRANSFORMS will take place in Glasgow and Aberdeen.

Further information from: gordon.brown3@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

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Glasgow pupils make money out of rubbish

Pupils at St Mungos Academy in Glasgow are learning the art of making money out of rubbish by recycling broken or old bikes into brand new machines.

The project entitled ‘Recycle a Bicycle’ asks pupils and the local community to donate their old and unwanted bikes for the project which is expected to develop into an enterprising business.

With a waiting list of pupils who want to get involved in the scheme, the school has drafted in the help of two fully trained Weldtech Bicycle mechanics to teach the pupils involved about every aspect of bike maintenance.

The bikes are transformed by the pupils back into a usable standard and are given a full MOT to the British Cycling Association standard. Any spare parts such as tyres, inner-tubes, gears, cabling, grips, pedals, saddles and bar handles are replaced and sold on for use.

When the initiative starts to make money, there will be a dedicated small team set up to deal with the accounts of the enterprise.

The whole initiative has been designed to develop a responsible attitude towards recycling and raw materials. Through the project the pupils involved have already developed a confidence through undertaking the repair and refurbishment work on the bikes.

Further information from David Greechan: Greechan@st-mungosacademy.glasgow.sch.uk

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Clackmannanshire pupils learn the skills needed for various careers

80 S4 pupils from three secondary schools in Clackmannanshire were given an insight into the career options available to them through a series of motivational workshops run on a one day course.

A motivational speech by a local entrepreneur kicked the day off, which was followed by three motivational workshops aimed at teaching the pupils about the skills they would need to enter various professions.

The Sector Skills Council for the construction industry gave a presentation on the skills needed in the construction industry and the Stirling Management Centre focused on the skills needed in the hospitality industry. The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Motivational team were also on hand to teach the pupils about the development of core skills, with a focus on decision making, planning, negotiating and team working.

Throughout the day creative thinking, working as a group and making reasoned evaluations was required of the young people as they worked through a number of set tasks. Pupils were encouraged to reflect on their strengths and the challenges faced throughout the day, and a great deal of emphasis was placed on how they related to others within their team. By balancing challenge with success in the various different areas of activity, the confidence of those involved was greatly improved and the feedback was extremely positive.

Further information from Jaki Reid: jakireid@clacks.gov.uk

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East Dunbartonshire pupils tasked with designing a hand held snack

S1 pupils at Ninians High School in East Dunbartonshire were challenged by a local employer, James Allen Bakers, to come up with a new hand held snack.

Managing Director of James Allen Bakers set the challenge in a year assembly and talked the pupils through the type of hand held snacks already available to consumers, such as breads, rolls, pie cases, puff pastry, potato scones and wraps.

Pupils then worked in groups of four in home economic classes, designing and making their hand held snacks using a range of ingredients, such as pie cases, scone bases and puff pastry. The project was truly cross curricular with PSE lessons teaching pupils on how they could market their product.

On challenge day, a team leader was appointed for each team and the pupils were tasked with creating their chosen hand held snack. This was done through lesson periods spent in the manufacturing process (home economics), the marketing process (business education), packaging (art) and pricing the product (maths). At the end of the day, the pupils were able to display their marketing posters, packaging and their products at a ‘trade fair’ within the school. All of the products were photographed by senior pupils studying photography, with some of the shots used to create the packaging.

The Managing Director and Production Manager from James Allan Bakers judged the finished products on appearance, taste, originality, recipe and commerciality. The winning three will be preparing a presentation to be judged by James Allan Bakers to identify a winner and prizes given on the day to best team leader and most effective team.

Further information from Margaret Pears: Margaret.pears@eastdunbarton.gov.uk

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Inverclyde’s Greenock Academy branches out into food and drink enterprise

Pupils at Greenock Academy in Inverclyde have been branching out into food and drink enterprise recently with two key projects, namely a roll delivery service for staff and a smoothie stall promoting healthy eating practices.

S3 hospitality pupils organised the roll delivery service to staff, which due to its success, has become a regular occurrence at the school. Staff were able to choose from a range of rolls and fillings and orders were taken over a period of two days, two weeks in advance. The rolls were prepared by pupils and delivered to staff at lunchtime to their chosen locations.

In addition, the S4 pupils’ smoothie stall took two weeks to plan, with pupils researching and experimenting with smoothie recipes. The pupils also made promotional materials to publicise the smoothie stall and on the day managed to execute a queuing system which avoided unnecessary crushing from keen customers! Both events have helped to encourage team working and leadership skills.

Further information from Rosemary Harrison: rosemary.harrison@inverclydeschools.org.uk

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Ayrshire School embarks on a business engagement programme

St Joseph’s Academy in Ayrshire has just embarked on an exciting new initiative, the Business Advocates Programme, which aims to link departments with local businesses to participate in supporting and enhancing the delivery of the curriculum within the school.

Following a very successful partnership with the Klin Group in 2007, who commissioned a piece of original theatre from Redblack, St Joseph’s Academy’s Theatre Company, the school hopes to gain interest from businesses which will link to specific departments within the school. St Joseph’s held a business breakfast arranged by Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce in which individual departments were able to discuss possible areas of common interest with a group of local business representatives.

The project will work to the benefit of the pupils, businesses and staff and will promote creativity, support interdisciplinary working and seeks to make the curriculum more inspiring. St Joseph’s envisages the programme will encourage staff involved to enhance their approach to learning and teaching through the interaction they will have with business partners.

Further information from: Ben.davies@east-ayrshire.gov.uk or david.ritson@east-ayrshire.gov.uk

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Edinburgh’s job market laid bare for pupils

Edinburgh City Council has produced an information poster on the Edinburgh jobs market which will be distributed to all colleges, schools and special schools within Edinburgh. It is designed to give pupils an idea of what the jobs market is like in Edinburgh and the opportunities which are available to them. It also encourages pupils to stay on in learning as the information on future employment states that pupils will need at least a HND to get employed. Easy to read and current, it offers information on the jobs scene in Edinburgh which is not available elsewhere.
Further information from: maria.lloyd@edinburgh.gov.uk

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