VIEW FROM the chamber
Lochaber Chamber of Commerce is delighted to be part of the Scottish Government’s Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) initiative, which aims to bridge the gap between education and employment.
Last month, 24 third-year Mallaig High School pupils were put through mock interviews by local employers.
The chamber thanks John MacLellan of The Underwater Centre; Ged Kilcoin of Lochaber Smelter; Jane Henderson of West Highland College UHI; Fraser MacDougall of BT Openreach; Alyson Smith of Lochaber Hope; Nancy Campbell of the Mackintosh Centre and Chris Vind of Glencoe Activities.
They all kindly volunteered their time, knowledge and experience to help prepare the young people for their future careers.
The employer-led mock interviews offer valuable experience to the young people, with employers providing informal feedback on the day, followed by written notes on their strengths and areas for improvement.
Sometimes the interviews provide longterm inspiration: one 15-year-old girl who was interviewing for a fictional hotel manager’s job admitted she really wanted to be a diver, but didn’t think it was realistic.
Luckily, John MacLellan of The Underwater Centre was her interviewer and told her about the career opportunities in diving and the great training available just along the road.
It is not just the young people who get a lot out of the interviews.
Ged Kilcoin of Lochaber Smelter said: ‘It was a pleasure to be involved in this process and we were all extremely impressed with the level of application and commitment demonstrated by all the students we met. I hope this will continue as it will serve them well in the future as they build their careers. A fantastic day.’
Call 01397 705765 if you’d like to get involved in employer-led mock interviews or to find out more about other ways your business can help to shape our future workforce.