A cohort of young school leavers experienced what it's like to be a student for a morning when they visited the University of Aberdeen recently.
The Fit Next school leavers programme aims to provide an opportunity for young people who are not in positive destinations to learn about a variety of opportunities available to them now since they have left school.
Past groups have visited various providers to learn about work, volunteering and personal development opportunities available to them and will receive support from ABZ Works to move forward after the programme.
The group learned about the University of Aberdeen not only as a place to study now or further down their career path, but also as a place of work, showing how hundreds of different job types come together.
Entrepreneurship skills were also explored with the group learning some business terminology before using their creativity skills to come up with an idea for a new Pittodrie Pie which they would be marketing for a specific target audience. The group were given some top tips to presenting before the spotlight was on them Dragons Den-style.
The cohort had a campus tour where they saw the Sir Duncan Rice Library and met students working on the Tau Racing Car, before seeing inside some of the engineering labs and the Zoology Museum.
Pam Cumming, Schools Engagement Officer at the University, said: “Many people leave school unsure where their career pathway will take them. Studying at university isn’t for everyone when they leave school, but many are not aware of all the different types of jobs there are at the University or that it’s a place you can study at later on in life.
“Pathways and careers change and it’s great to be able to showcase the University to those who are unsure what the pathway could be for them. Informing this group of different opportunities and making them aware of their employability skills was a real highlight for me today, only topped by their superb ideas. I wish everyone all the best in the next chapters of their lives.”
David Kindness, Employability Key Worker at Aberdeen City Council, said: “The participants enjoyed their session at the University of Aberdeen learning about job and study options potentially open to them. The activities and tour kept the participants engaged and showcased some of the state of the art facilities at the University.”