Career Ready Graduates celebrate graduation

A total of 48 pupils recently graduated from the programme with their achievement marked at a graduation ceremony held at the Livingston headquarters of Sky - one of the local employers who support the programme.

Career Ready is a two-year programme designed to empower young people in S5/S6 to kick-start their chosen career through a series of authentic workplace experiences and a network of support.

The programme sees young people work with a mentor from the world of work undertake a paid 4-week internship. The pupils are also given access to a variety of masterclasses in addition to their workplace visits throughout the programme.

The graduation ceremony was attended by partner employers, parents and carers and representatives from West Lothian Council.

Karolina was one of the pupils who found real benefits from taking part in the programme. She said:  "Career Ready has been an amazing experience for me, I've learned a lot along the way and improved on things like communication, team working and confidence. My Levenseat mentor has been great with helping me through different things and also the mentee-mentor meetings have helped me open up about struggles I have been experiencing. On completing my internship with Little Flyers I've now gained a job position as a 'high flyer' with them which has just been great and I'm sure it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for Career Ready." 

Executive councillor for education, Andrew McGuire passed on his congratulations to all of the successful Career Ready graduates.

He said: " I'd like to congratulate all West Lothian pupils who have taken part and hope that the experience will stand them well for the future."

The Career Ready Programme is a key initiative, bridging the gap between education and work by helping young people prepare for the world of work through gaining first-hand experience of the workplace."