Fife Students Get Career Ready

The first group of school pupils from Fife have gathered to get top careers advice from business leaders.

Every secondary school in Fife has signed up to a prestigious national career initiative which provides the youngsters with mentors, masterclasses and valuable paid work experience.

The initiative helps them uncover their strengths and talents while exploring career pathways that inspire them.

Career Ready is a national charity linking local authorities and schools with employers to open up the world of work to young people, increasing their awareness of local job opportunities and pathways towards work.Career Ready counts leading global drinks company Diageo, Fife Council, Fife Chamber of Commerce, Pfaudler Balfour and a number of other local businesses among its supporters.

An event at Balbirnie House Hotel on Tuesday offered pupils and mentors a chance to meet for the first time. The inspiring, high energy event marked the start of the two year programme.

The organisation has already helped more than 4,000 pupils with over 180 programmes running across the UK, including programmes in Moray, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Perth & Kinross.

A total of 57 pupils from Auchmuty, Buckhaven, Dunfermline, Kirkland, Glenwood, Glenrothes, Inverkeithing and Lochgelly High Schools will be the first group of young participants in the programme in Fife. 

Anne Wexelstein, Director for Career Ready in Scotland said: “Career Ready creates positive routes for young people when they leave school either to enter the workplace or make their way there through further or higher education.  We focus on giving young people with little family background of professional careers or higher education the confidence, skills and networks to achieve life-long success at work.   Our aim is for pupils from every school in Fife to benefit from this incredible opportunity, with the invaluable support from some first class employers including Diageo, Fife Council and FMC Technologies.”

Steve Blake, Operations Director at Diageo’s Cameronbridge Distillery said: “Fife is an extremely important area for Diageo and working with local Fife businesses to help develop, and release, the potential of young people within the local area is hugely important to us. Diageo already enjoys a fantastic partnership with Career Ready in other areas of Scotland, and it’s great that together we can help to build pupils confidence and ambition to set them up for success, as best as possible, in their future careers.”