Dundee City Council has again supported the Career Ready initiative by giving five young people paid internships to let them see the potential work opportunities in a local authority.
Over four weeks, the senior secondary pupils were mentored by city council officers and partners from Developing the Young Workforce, and experienced different aspects of services.
This included the organisation behind the mass vaccination centre at the Caird Hall, the daily work of city centre ambassadors, out of school care clubs, administration duties and a visit to the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc.
The five young people were also given e-learning opportunities and other career insights before giving a virtual presentation about the skills and knowledge they had gained.
Kelsey Carr, St Paul’s Academy, said: “Career Ready is such a positive programme to be involved in. My time with Career Ready and the internship experience has really changed my life. It has helped me choose what path I want to go on in life and I couldn’t have done it without my mentor.”
A-Jay Ayre-Young, St Paul’s Academy, said: “I found it very useful for learning what I want to do for a career and helped me to further develop my skills and new ones.”
Sedra Al Hussein, Braeview Academy, said: “I had the best time doing lots of things, it even helped me have the best summer as well, getting to know new people and be friends with them. So grateful for everyone who supported us.”
Rachel Pollock, Harris Academy, said: “I really enjoyed my internship experience with Dundee City Council as it widened my eyes to a whole new world of work. I would definitely think that it is an attractive place for young people to work because there are so many different varieties of jobs for anyone.”
Kali Stark, St John’s High, said: “I found the internship aspect of Career Ready a good and useful experience that has helped me gain skills for life. Dundee City Council is an attractive place for a young person to work as there are so many people who are willing to provide you with support and guidance.”
More details on the work of the Career Ready charity and paid internships are available at https://careerready.org.uk/scotland/
Dundee City Council
Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.
