Digital Event at the Waterfoot Hotel - Thursday 19th April 2012

School Employer Connections is delighted to work in association with the Foyle Learning Community and Digital Derry in the organisation of an event to highlight careers in the Digital Sector to students and parents.

Companies taking part represent digital storage, digital coding, gaming, comic book art and digital event organising.  As well as company information, you can avail of expertise from the University of Ulster, Letterkenny Institute of Technology, and the Careers Service.

There will be opportunity to ask questions, gain an insight about careers in this area, and organise your subjects.

Represented will be:

• Seagate
• Allstate
• Bang on the Door
• Uproar Comics
• 360 Production
• Hubb.it
• Troll Inc.

Come along and take advantage of a wealth of experience and expertise!  And it's all FREE!  Bring your parents!

Venue:  Waterfoot Hotel

Date:  Thursday 19th April 2012

Time: 6.30pm to 8.30pm

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

This event proved to be very useful to both parents and students.  The companies on show highlighted how exciting it is to be part of the Digital Sector.  Uproar Comics enthused the audience about their new Big Screen game, 360 Production outlined the range of jobs available in tv and production, and Bang on the Door made world product exposure look easy!  Both Seagate and Allstate made the same point; the wealth of jobs available within the sector for those with the necessary qualifications.  Those qualifications were outlined by the University of Ulster at Magee, the Careers Service and Letterkenny Institute of Technology.

 

  

 

 

 

The Seagate Environmental Day 2012 will be held on Tuesday 1st May 2012.  Due to the success of previous years, Seagate have invited schools to enrol for 2012.  There are still places available if you have a group of students.  The programme for the day is based on the Geography curriculum for Year 10.

If you're interested contact Vivienne Kerr on 028 71 364656 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

St. Cecilia's Students take on Business!

Over 400 students from St. Cecilia's College boarded buses on Friday 10th February 2012 to visit over 20 businesses.

This was an opportunity for students and teachers, including Principal Kathleen Gormley, to gain an insight into the world of work outside the classroom. 

Special thanks to:

HML

AXA

First Trust Bank

All Pipe Engineering

Maydown Precision Engineering

Loughs Agency

Everglades Hotel

Seagate

Coolkeeragh

Derry Visitor Convention Bureau

The City Hotel

The Belfray Country Inn

Verbal Arts Centre

Airport Fire Service

Airporter

Nuprint

360 Production

Sainsburys

Curtis Opticians

Millennium Forum

The Beech Hill Country House Hotel

Debenhams

Void Gallery

Science and Engineering are flying high in girls’ schools across Northern Ireland, with the launch of a ‘Women into Science and Engineering’ (WISE) initiative pioneered by Bombardier and assisted by School Employer Connections. The programme gives students an insight into the exciting world of aerospace through four stages, which range from workshops to site visits and a flight on a Bombardier aircraft. With four Derry~Londonderry girls’ taking part locally, the WISE programme, which is now in its sixth year, highlights careers in the science and engineering sector for Year 10 to 12 pupils, (13 -16 year olds) studying design and technology and it takes place over the school year.

As part of the programme students take part in several activities facilitated by Bombardier apprentices, which include making their own aeroplane to understand the design and complexity of aircraft parts and assembly. A visit to Bombardier’s Queen’s Island site allows pupils and teachers to see aerospace manufacturing first hand. The girls also visit the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum for a technology workshop in X2 The Flight Experience Gallery, which includes a flight in an aircraft simulator. In addition to the chance to spend a week on work placement, the highlight of the WISE programme is a flight on a Bombardier Q400. On the flight, pupils have the opportunity to hear the pilot explain the operation of the aircraft and see the forces of flight in action.

Owen Crozier, Engineering & Manufacturing Programme Manager, School Employer Connections, highlights the goals of the programme:

“Not only has the programme explained who Bombardier is and what the company designs and manufactures, but it has also highlighted the wide range of career opportunities open to women in science and engineering. There are numerous prospects for exciting careers within the sectors and the WISE programme is successful in motivating students to consider working in the area.”

Tony Monaghan, Education Liaison Officer, Bombardier Aerospace, Belfast, highlights the company’s commitment to engaging with schools in the region:

“Our key objectives are to encourage pupils to consider design and technology as exciting and creative processes of discovery and invention. Through our WISE programme, female students get the opportunity to visit one of the leading aerospace companies in the UK and gain a valuable insight to the career paths available in what is an exciting industry.”

For more information visit www.schoolemployerconnections.org or call 028 7136 4656.

Awards were presented to Allstate and St. Mary's College, Derry in the Irish News Workplace and Employment Awards.  Allstate were winners in the Work, Life and Wellbeing award category and St. Mary's were successful in the Large Organisation category.  At School Employer Connections, we are delighted that your hard work and achievements are recognised!  Well done!

When: 11th October 2011

Where: Millennium Forum, Derry~Londonderry

What: An innovative careers event providing students with choice about their area/s of interest.

'Futurecamp' connected students with 25 leading employers who provided them with a unique insight into careers in their sector through workshops and interactive discussions.

Futurecamp was an event split up into five zones, in addition to a discussion forum area, where students had an opportunity to put their questions to employers first hand.  Students were asked to identify their preferred zone(s) so that they could help us design the best day for them.

The five zones were:

- Life and Health Sciences;

- Engineering and Manufacturing;

- Digital Technology;

- Financial Services;

- Hospitality and Tourism

Special thanks to all the employers who freely gave of their time.  Also, thanks to teachers and students for taking part and making the day such a success.

Exciting News

Employers such as Seagate, Bank of Ireland and Marks and Spencer donated prizes on the day.  We are happy to announce the winners as follows:

Dillon McDermott, St. Mary's Limavady won a Nintendo DS provided by Bank of Ireland

Katherine Hanna and Jade McDonald from Limavady Grammar won a remote storage device supplied by Seagate.

Kevin Harkin from St. Columb's College won remote storage device, as did Dominnika Gorywoda from St. Mary's College, Limavady.

Well done to all!

We still have passes to Brunswick Superbowl to be awarded, so keep posted!

                       

 

Hundreds of students had the chance to connect with 25 of Northern Ireland’s leading employers at a landmark careers event at Millennium Forum, Derry~Londonderry. Run by School Employer Connections, ‘Futurecamp’ aimed to inspire students to consider careers in sectors which have current or predicted skills shortages including life and health sciences, financial services, manufacturing, engineering, digital technology, hospitality and tourism.

Students from year 12, 13 and 14 visited zones to learn about the career they are interested in and in an innovative twist, they had an opportunity to put questions to a panel of leading employers using twitter. Employers shared their experiences of working in their sector and provided an insight into the range of paths into their sector.

Martin O’Donnell, Branch Manager, Bank of Ireland was delighted to showcase careers in financial services. He explains:

“Bank of Ireland is always glad to support students. Futurecamp provided us with an opportunity to influence students at an important stage in their lives. We would advise all employers to engage with students and to share their expertise.”

Director of School Employer Connections, Dr Annette Begley, touches on the positive response to the event from students and employers alike:

“Futurecamp has provided a platform for students to connect and hear from employers in an interactive way which has truly inspired them and opened their eyes not only to the variety of opportunities available to them, but how the labour market is changing and what they have to do to be competitive. We saw the event as a chance to put the issue of skills shortages on the map and to address the problem head-on by making connections which will no doubt inspire students to make informed choices about their future career path.”

Congratulations to Airporter who were awarded 'Operator of the Year' at the Federation of Passenger Transport's Awards ceremony recently.  The company regularly share their expertise with students and are a valued contributor to our programmes.  We are delighted to see them scoop such a prestigious award.

Congratulations to our friends at Wrightbus in Ballymena who have secured a major new order worth around £55m for 334 new buses!

Between March and June 2011, Owen attended a QCS International ISO 9001; 2008 Quality Mananagement System Implementation Course. Workshops were delivered by QCS International providing training and support to businesses wishing to implement a quality management system in their organisations to enhance their reputation and assure clients and customers about the quality of their organisations with regard to conformance and meeting customer requirements and standards.

Owen also attended two half day courses relating to ISO 18001 (OHSAS Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems) & ISO 14001 (Environment Management Systems) which will be invaluable in understanding the Manufacturing & Engineering Sector employers requirements and standards that must be adhered to and consequently explaining this to students. Derry City Council kindly paid for the course as part of their Enterprising Derry Programme. 

Ambassador status was awarded to 50 leading businesses in Northern Ireland who demonstrate a significant commitment to the development of the future workforce for their sectors at an event at Beech Hill Country House Hotel today, 23 June 2011. The initiative is headed up by School Employer Connections, a social enterprise set up by business leaders in 2001 to establish meaningful connections between schools and employers so that employers could play a part in preparing students for the world of work.

While many people now struggle to find employment in Northern Ireland, a number of sectors (life and health sciences, engineering and manufacturing, digital technology, financial services, hospitality and tourism) have been identified as having workforce gaps, which could reach crisis level in the next few years as these areas develop. The ambassador businesses will be an example of best practice for the rest of their sector and they will continue to lead the way in which they engage with students and highlight the range of exciting careers in their sector.

During the event, Director of School Employer Connections, Máire Gallagher, highlighted past achievements in building bridges between schools and the business community, the current situation and strategies for the future. She says:

“These businesses demonstrate, through consistent participation in our programmes, their commitment to workforce development and corporate social responsibility and we felt it was important, as part of our tenth anniversary celebrations to recognise their work in this area.”

Representatives from priority sectors were also on hand to talk to the audience about their own experiences including Simon Hunter from Hunter Apparel Solutions, which was named as an ambassador for the Engineering and Manufacturing sector. Simon explains why a business in the increasingly pressured textiles industry would feel it is so important to take time to work with teenagers:

“We not only have the opportunity to influence and prepare our potential future workforce, but it is a great way to develop our existing staff as they share their expertise and develop new skills. By raising the profile of Hunter Apparel Solutions, we can attract the very best talent, all while giving something back to the community and supporting our corporate social responsibility goals.”

Check out some photos from the event below!

We feature in this month's Ulster Business magazine.

2011 Environmental Awareness Day at Seagate

Check out some photos from the event!

Check out the Derry News Coverage of Seagate's recent 'Think-Act' Environmental Awareness Day.