Edenside Careers Fair

As a result of a survey sent by the Developing the Young Workforce team to all Primary Headteachers in the Borders, Edenside Primary School in Kelso responded by asking for support to deliver a careers fair to all 322 pupils in May.
 
Laura Swanson, Teacher from Edenside, responded to the survey and made an appeal to the programme team to assist with helping apply the Career Educations Standards (3-18) in school.
 
The Career Education Standard (3-18), set by the Scottish Government, recognises the journeys that children and young people make as they progress from age 3-18, learning about the world of work. It also acknowledges the potential and role of key influencers in these journeys, for example parents and employers.
 
Throughout the day on the 15th May workshops and presentations were delivered by parents, friends and local businesses who were sourced by the Developing the Young Workforce team.
  
Primary 1 to 3 pupils kicked things off with a morning of presentations from a variety of professionals who came to the school to talk about a typical day in their respective jobs. The ‘A Day in the Life of…’  session saw an electrician, a doctor, a manufacturer and a podiatrist talk to the eager to learn youngsters.
 
Next up were the Primary 4 and 5 pupils who were involved in a Question and Answer session with professionals from the fields of social work, agricultural engineering, pharmaceuticals, health care and hospitality. The pupils showed a real interest in finding out more, asking about what their job involves, the hours they work and how much they get paid.
 
And lastly, the Primary 6 and 7 pupils took part in a market stall session where they had 5 minutes to visit each presenter and discuss what their job involved and ask their own personal questions about studying options and career choices.
 
When asked about the benefit of the younger pupils’ involvement in the fair, DYW Borders Programme Manager, Andrea Hall, said: “A lot of our focus is, rightly so, on older age school children, especially those in secondary school, but we believe no child is too young to start learning about the world of work.”
 
Events like this are an essential aspect of the DYW Borders programme, allowing children and young people to develop interests, strengths, skills and aspirations through experiences as part of the curriculum and improving their ability to make informed decisions about future pathways.