Four secondary students from Drogheda have done themselves, their schools and their town proud in the 2022 Career Skills Competition sponsored by AIB.
Yesterday, Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD was on hand to congratulate the winning students at the Annual Awards Ceremony which took place at the Department of Education and was attended by the winning Students, their Families, Teachers, and Guidance Counsellors.
The competition was developed by CareersPortal, Ireland’s Award Winning & Leading Career Guidance website, and this year is sponsored by AIB, Allied Irish Banks. It has been running for 13 years.
The competition was open to all Senior Cycle students who were participating in the Transition Year Programme, the Leaving Cert Vocational Programme (LCVP), the Leaving Cert Applied Programme (LCA) or the Leaving Cert Established Programme (LCE) and who had undertaken a Work Experience Placement to enter.
The aim of the competition is to encourage independent career research among second level students and to foster awareness around the importance of Career Skills, which can be developed as a result of completing a work experience placement.
Students had the choice to enter the competition in either English or Irish and in a written or Vlog format. Participation in the competition facilitates a rich understanding of a particular occupation and more importantly the pathways to access it and the career skills needed to support it.
Each participating student was required to demonstrate their understanding of a chosen career, the educational pathways that lead to it, the most relevant Knowledge Requirements and the most important Career Skills needed to be successful in that career.
Eimear Sinnott, MD of CareersPortal, said: “Research has shown that while academic performance is important, the development of career skills are a greater indicator of future career success. Students need to understand this as early as possible so that they can work on recognising and developing these important employability skills.”
CareersPortal supports this process by providing information and resources for students and career seekers who are researching the world of work and the world of education.
This up-to-date freely available Irish information is informed through collaborating and working closely with key stakeholders including Government Departments, Industry Experts, and Education Providers across the National Framework of Qualifications.
Minister Foley congratulated the winners of the 2022 National Careers Skills competition across all categories, and commended the winners on their ability to reflect so well on the career and employability skills which they had developed during their work experience.
Congratulating the winners, Minister Foley said: “…Work experience is of such importance and the students who took part in this competition have shown a great ability, flexibility and independent research to reflect on this experience, and the career and employability skills they developed.
“I am very pleased to see that many occupations with such a diverse educational pathway explored on this occasion. The winners of the 2022 competition have explored occupations with so many different entry routes from further education and training including apprenticeships and higher education courses. I congratulate everyone who participated in making the most of this opportunity”
