Employability Skills Put in the Spotlight

A DVD resource to show young people the connection between school subjects, gaining skills and applying these to jobs, has been launched by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

SQA has developed the DVD on Employability for Young People working with the teachers and pupils of Hillpark Secondary School in Glasgow and Newbattle Community High School in Midlothian.

The DVD Title, ‘Kinnect to Work’ was suggested by one of the pupils involved in the project.

Pupils were involved in the filming at their schools and then in various departments within SQA. The production included setting-up filming of classes that tie into the workplace, for example a computing class and then filming in the SQA IT dept, to illustrate how skills learned in the classroom can be used in the workplace.

As part of its corporate social responsibility strategy, SQA are very keen as a major employer to give something back to their local communities in Glasgow and Midlothian where SQA’s main operations are based.

This includes working with Scottish Business in the Community’s Glasgow Leadership Group and Midlothian Council to help pupils think about careers in business and administration.

SQA Director of Human Resources, Maidie Cahill, said: “SQA is committed to working with business groups, local authorities and schools to help young people prepare for work. I’m delighted that the ‘Kinnect to Work’ DVD has been such a successful output of this commitment. Our staff who have been involved in this project have thoroughly enjoyed working with the pupils and teachers of Hillpark Secondary School and Newbattle Community High School. I’d like to congratulate them all for their hard work in the production of the DVD.”

Depute Head Teacher of Hillpark Secondary School, Kevin Hughes, said: “We are delighted to have worked with SQA on the production of the ‘Kinnect to Work’ resource. The project was a great experience for the pupils, giving them insight into the many possibilities skills learned in the classroom can lead to in the world of work.”