CAREERS SCOTLAND - A GUIDE FOR GLASGOW SCHOOL LEAVERS
Background
The guide has been developed in Partnership with Careers Scotland and the Glasgow Anti Racist Alliance and is supported by the Glasgow City Council - Education Support Services.
It was originally devised as a positive action project to address the under representation of black and minority ethnic young people in mainstream employment. There is Evidence to suggest that young people who underachieve in schools underachieve through to adulthood which directly affects their chances of access employment, training and education opportunities. Therefore we wanted to devise a resource which would be useful to the young person and their family through their transition. We decided later that this guide should be more generic so that a wider group could benefit from it.
The guide aims to enable young people make positive and informed choices when they leave school and to recognise and challenge discrimination in the process. The schools which we consulted in its development included: St Paul's High School, Bellahouston Academy, Shawlands Academy, Holyrood High School
, Cleveden Academy and Notre Dame High School.
The objectives was to produce a 'Self help' type booklet which young people could keep and refer to before or after they have left school. The guide covers:
- Where to get advice on careers, training and education
- Getting support from parents / guardians and family
- Options open to young people when leaving school.
- What are the skills and qualities employer look for
- An introduction to discrimination in relation to employment, education and training including case studies and success stories.
- An introduction to employment law and equal opportunities.
- Notes for parents / guardians
- Positive actions projects such as - Positives Futures and list of helpful contacts.
We decided to supplement the careers information with a section on Discrimination and Equal Opportunities as young people can also be subject to discrimination; direct or indirect when engaging with a training providers, employers or any other institute or organisation.
It also incorporates information for parents which has been translated into five different languages to reflect Glasgow's diverse communities which is -
Urdu, Punjabi, Chinese, Arabic and Farsi - the last two languages reflect two of the main languages spoken by refugee communities.
PRESENT AND FUTURE
It was proposed that a lesson plan would accompany the guide for teacher / tutors to deliver a workshop in schools - as we felt that young people should not be given a copy indiscriminately, without having read it at least once. As it is a 'self-help' type guide young people need to be made aware of its benefits. The workshop would be piloted in a Glasgow school that has a muti-cultural pupil base.
Benefit to the young person:
- To make informed choices which in turn will help them access the labour market successfully.
- Become more aware of their rights and develop understanding and appreciation of the law and legislation.
- Gained confidence in self and the system
Benefit to the school:
- Raise attainment in education.
- Pupils moving into a positive outcome once they leave school.
- More pupils moving onto worthwhile careers - future role models for the school.
- Positive marketing for the school through the achievement and success of ex-pupils.
Scotland Economy:
- In line with the SMART SUCCESSFUL SCOTLAND strategy.
This guide can be an invaluable resource for clients from vulnerable backgrounds. It does not attempt to duplicate the role of a careers guidance adviser, other than reinforcing the guidance / advice administered. As it was printed over three year ago, there may be some outdated terminology. I think the important factor is that it is supported by a range of good information which is up-today and relevant for the current climate.