Special careers fair for Derry & Strabane students at Foyle Arena

The event has been organised by Derry City and Strabane District Council in direct partnership with local schools to give Year 10 and 11 students the chance to engage with businesses from all sectors.

It will take place in Foyle Arena on Thursday, November 7 from 9.30am to 3.30pm, with pupils from 11 different schools signed up for the interactive fair.

There will be 27 businesses in attendance covering various sectors, including manufacturing and engineering, digital industries, life health and sciences, creative industries, as well as apprenticeships, entrepreneurships and volunteering.

It will be an informal setting on the day which will provide an interactive platform for students to talk to potential employers, improve their networking skills and sharpen their interpersonal skills, whilst linking their current studies with real life job opportunities.

Meanwhile, employers involved will have a valuable platform to advertise their sector to students and increase overall awareness of the jobs and career paths available.

The Council’s Inclusive Strategic Growth Plan (SGP) has two key education and skills based actions that focus on addressing ways to ‘increase industry engagement in careers advice and guidance’ and to ‘promote the importance of educational pathways and the apprenticeship framework’.

In line with this, the Council have worked in liaison with the principals and Head of Careers of each school involved through the Learning Communities, which were established to promote post primary collaboration, to deliver this unique pilot careers fair – with another taking place in Strabane on November 19.

Mayor Michaela Boyle, said the fair is a brilliant chance for students to speak directly with employers about what interests them.

She said: “Evidence shows that exposing children to the world of work early on has a significant impact on their aspirations, motivation and confidence. It helps broaden their horizons, challenge stereotypes and gives them the opportunity to connect their learning with their future.

“Therefore, this careers fair will hopefully inspire the next generation of Year 10 and 11 pupils to explore jobs that interest them and offer them a realistic insight into what work exists now, and potentially in the future.”

John Healy, Managing Director and Vice President of Allstate Northern Ireland, who are supporting the fair, agreed that it will provide an ‘excellent opportunity’ for the youth in the district.

“With the pace of change in technology and related industries, it’s very difficult to stay informed of career opportunities.

“The NW career fair provides an excellent opportunity for students, teachers and parents to learn about the wide variety of roles, opportunities, careers, and what skills and qualifications that will lead to a bright career ahead,” said Mr Healy. “Allstate NI employs over 1,000 people in the North West and will be showcasing the wide variety of roles on offer. By demonstrating the variety of technology used and roles available we hope to inspire the youth of today to consider Allstate as a career destination.

“Skills of the future include Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, R&D, Telematics, Responsive app design and User Experience in the development of cutting-edge solutions that help protect our customers. I would encourage you to come along and hear how you could make a difference on a global stage.”