Adults and young people in south-west Wales are being urged to put some ‘power’ into their careers by attending a careers and information evening designed to help them find out more about what it’s like to work in the energy sector.

Organised by Careers Wales and the Energy Workforce Development Group, the evening is aimed at pupils in schools and their parents/guardians, teachers, college students and  adults and is designed to provide individuals with information on routes into the energy sector, the skills and qualifications needed, training schemes, apprenticeships, further and higher education.

Come along to the Energy Sector event at the Bridge Innovation Centre, Pembroke Dock, SA72 6UN, on Thursday 1^st March anytime between 5pm and 7pm.

For further details, please contact Careers Wales on 01646 623510.

The Energy Sector event, held at the Bridge Innovation Centre in Pembroke Dock on 1st March anytime between 5pm and 7pm, will be buzzing with Employers, the College, Training Providers and others who will be on hand to provide people with information and guidance on careers and jobs in non-renewable and renewable energy sectors.

More than 850,000 people work in the UK energy sector and by 2025, Wales aims to be energy self-sufficient, promoting the use of wind, marine, solar and biomass in particular. Currently 25 per cent of the UKs energy supplies come through Pembrokeshire. This figure is set to increase once the Power Station becomes fully operational.

Organised by Careers Wales and the Energy Workforce Development Group, the evening is aimed at pupils in schools and their parents/guardians, teachers, college students and adults and is designed to provide individuals with information on routes into the energy sector, the skills and qualifications needed, training schemes, apprenticeships, further and higher education.

Speaking ahead of the evening, Jean Brown at Careers Wales, said: “Building on the success of last year’s event, we are delighted to be hosting this event once again. We would encourage anyone who is thinking of getting into the energy sector to come along for an informal, but very productive chat with local employers, industry and teaching experts.”

Employers and apprentices from the oil industry, LNG, Power Station, Renewables, Milford Haven Port Authority, Svitzer as well as others will be attending the event which is supported by the Pembrokeshire 14-19 Network.

Come along to the Energy Sector event at the Bridge Innovation Centre, Pembroke Dock, SA72 6UN, on Thursday 1st March anytime between 5pm and 7pm. For further details, please contact Careers Wales on 01646 623510.

The purpose of the evening is to provide careers information within the Health and Social Care sector to school students, young people and adults living in and around Carmarthenshire.

In addition, if you have any current vacancies or looking to expand in the future, then please come along in order to promote these opportunities to all those attending. If you would like to take the opportunity to have a FREE stand at this event to talk to individuals and to bring literature, pop-up stands and advertising boards, please do not hesitate to contact Careers Wales.

Speaking ahead of the event, Gareth Price at Careers Wales said: “We have identified this sector as a major growth area in the jobs market at a time when jobs are hard to find.  This event aims to give adults, along with young people in school and college, the opportunity to find out more about the range of careers in the care sector by speaking directly to employers.”

For more information or to book a place, please contact:-

Gareth Price, Careers Wales Work Focused Adviser, on 01269 598100 e-mail: gareth.price@cwwest.co.uk 

Liz James, Careers Wales Work Focused Advisor, on 01267 244100 email: liz.james@cwwest.co.uk

A5 Flyer final

Thanks to a unique pairing service from Careers Wales, dozens of businesses and individuals in the local area are being matched up and helped along with the process of taking on an apprentice and helping to implement training for apprentices in the area.

During the summer of 2010, one in ten school leavers from West Wales chose to begin their working lives as an apprentice and thanks to a new service provided by Careers Wales which matches a businesses’ need to an individual keen get into their industry, apprenticeship opportunities in West Wales have never been more varied.

While apprenticeships, in one form or another, have been around since the Middle Ages with the first regulation of terms taking effect in 1563, life as an apprentice could not be further from old perceptions, as more and more school leavers in Wales are attracted to the diversity of jobs and career paths now available to them.

One school leaver who is already benefitting from his decision to become an apprentice is 18-year-old Daniel Lee from Pembroke Dock. Daniel was successful in his application to become an instrument technician at petrochemical and power related engineering specialists Mainport Engineering and is now six months into his first of four years as an apprentice.

Speaking about his decision to pursue an apprenticeship, Daniel said: “I found out about the opportunities available to work as an apprentice through word of mouth and the advisory team at Careers Wales and I was very keen to go down this route rather than continue on in education by doing my A Levels.

“I really enjoyed science and technology at school so I was keen to get into a career that worked in these areas and made the most of my skills, so I worked with Careers Wales to prepare my CV and to add myself to the Apprenticeship Matching Service which is how I was put in touch with Mainport Engineering.

“After a successful interview I started with Mainport in the middle of August and I’m now six months into my first year of a National Diploma Level Three which will equip me with the skills and technical ability needed to carry out the job at Mainport when I start on site in September.

“I would whole heartedly recommend an apprenticeship to anyone who is keen to get on in their chosen career and who enjoys learning in a practical and relevant way. I really enjoy the balance of mental and physical learning associated with an apprenticeship and it is also great to be working closely with your employer to see how each part of the business and what you are learning has its effect.”

Daniel’s employers, Mainport Engineering, who are made up of a board of directors all of which started out via engineering apprentices said the apprenticeship process had helped the business become the success that it is today.

Speaking about the value that their business places on apprenticeships, Paul Muxworthy, Health, Environmental, Safety and Quality Director at Mainport Engineering said: “All of our company directors undertook engineering apprenticeships so we know from first hand experience the invaluable lessons and skills that are gained from starting your career this way.

“Ten years ago we made the decision to start our own apprenticeship programme, which works with apprentices interested in every aspect of our work. As a result we currently employ 32 apprentices, with Daniel being one of seven that we took on at the end of last year.

“We are committed to developing our apprenticeship programme, which is our way of ensuring that we can secure and develop our future and success by training and developing highly skilled trades people, ensuring a strong home grown labour pool which will not only enhance our business but Pembrokeshire and engineering constriction in general.”

Ray Collier, Chief Executive of Careers Wales West who help individuals to pursue education, training and employment opportunities said that the developments taking place to help businesses and individuals benefit from apprenticeships had evolved significantly.

“Apprenticeships are an extremely successful way of assisting individuals to gain the training and skills development directly relevant to their dream job while ensuring that businesses continue to strive by creating a workforce that is adequately skilled and ready for work.

“Our Apprenticeship Matching Service is helping many businesses and individuals to be paired up and I would urge anyone who is keen to find out more about apprenticeships to get in touch.

“The diversity of careers available via apprenticeship programmes is vast and it is a very exciting time for anyone who is keen to progress their career by this route. We would urge anyone who is keen to find out more to get in touch.”

For further information on the opportunities available for businesses and individuals interested in apprenticeships visit Careers Wales at www.careerswales.com

ENDS

For media enquiries, please contact Cath Harris at MGB PR on 01792 460200 or cath@mgbpr.com

As part of National Apprenticeship Week, Donna Wild, Employment Coach from Careers Wales, visited Neath College yesterday to meet Mears’ newest recruits. 

Careers Wales offers employers such as Mears, the opportunity to advertise vacancies free of charge on www.careerswales.com, through schools and in careers centres as well as working closely with Careers Wales Employment Coaches to find the most appropriate candidate.  An online Apprenticeship Matching Service is also available on www.careerswales.com to allow employers to look for apprentices as well as those looking for apprenticeships.

At Careers Wales, experienced Employment Coaches like Donna, provide support, guidance and assistant clients with applications, CVs, interview techniques, confidence building and motivation.  Donna helped both  candidates in the application process.

Apprenticeships offer an opportunity to gain both practical, on-the-job experience and theoretical, college-based training. They can reach out and change people’s lives by offering them the chance to develop life long transferable skills.

Mears Construction are now advertising 2 more apprenticeship vacancies through Careers Wales.  Emily from Mears will be visiting the Neath Careers Centre next week to talk to clients who are interested in applying for the vacancies.  She will also bring a current apprentices to share his experience of Mears and the apprentice route.  

For furthert information, please contact Neath Careers on 01639 636391.  For details of you nearest careers office visit www.careerswales.com or tel 0800 100 900.

Budding young entrepreneurs from Neath Port Talbot were given hints and tips on enterprise and how to start-up a business by local experts at Sandfields Young Business Centre yesterday.

The Year 10 Llangatwg students, along with their teachers, had the opportunity to visit three businesses to speak face to face with entrepreneurs and observe them at work.  A fifteen minute presentation from young entrepreneur, Adam Amor, whose company Buffoon Film & Media is resident at the business centre,  gave a really good overview of the bonuses and pitfalls of self-employment.

Organised by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (NPTCBC) in partnership with Careers Wales, the day looked at the history of the business centre, what was on offer in terms of loans and grants, general and specifically targeted accommodation for under 31’s and the skills required for employment and self employment.

The pupils were also allowed the opportunity to ask questions.  Certificates of attendance, cross referenced against the Welsh Baccalaureate qualification, were presented by Cllr A Thomas, Leader of NPTCBC and Ray Collier, Chief Executive of Careers Wales West.

NPTCBC and Careers Wales look to build on the success of the day by organising other enterprise events.

Instant Messaging is an online ‘chat’ facility that will allow clients to message Careers Advisors and receive instant responses.

So, between Mon 6th Feb and Fri 10th Feb, follow the link below to get in touch with a Careers Wales Careers Adviser about any career, job, education or training questions you may have.  All advice is free, open to all ages and is only a click away!

https://www.careerswaleswest.co.uk/chat/index.html

Registration for The Big Bang Cymru 2012 is now open!

Calling all schools and colleges in Wales!  This year we are making the event even bigger!  The venue  is the Liberty Stadium, Swansea and the event will take place on 28^th June.

The theme is ‘the future digital generation’ and we are keen to encourage as many IT/Computing related projects to attend the event as possible, as well as increasing the number of Science/ Maths based projects.

Students can register to attend the event as a:

• Competitor – anyone aged 11-18 (individual/ team) can enter a STEM related project  and compete in the National Science & Engineering competition, Young Engineers or CREST
• STEM club – lunchtime and afterschool clubs can attend the event and showcase the work that they do, demonstrate experiments and inspire visitors to start/ join STEM clubs
• Visitor – we have the capacity to accept up to 480 student visitors from primary Y5 – Post 16

We are in the process of confirming two competitions that schools/ colleges can enter and will also make them eligible to enter the National Science & Engineering competition and display their entry at the event in March 2013.

We also have exciting and inspirational STEM shows and workshops and a host of interactive stands that anyone attending the event will have the opportunity to engage with.

For a registration pack please email Louise Helliwell: louise.helliwell@cwwest.co.uk or tel: 01792 352021

I first met Annmaire, Careers Wales Employment Coach, when I booked an appointment to discuss vacancies advertised on the Careers Wales website on completion of my A Levels in College.

I studied A-Levels in college, then went on to have two call centre jobs, but I didn’t enjoy them and I was starting to hate work!

I heard about apprenticeships after having meetings with Careers Wales Careers Adviser at my college, who discussed with me options about different career paths. I also knew I didn’t want to go to University.

I knew I wanted a break from studying/exams/assignments and didn’t want to go to university straight away, but after discussing the benefits of apprenticeships at college and my local careers office with Annmarie, I knew I wanted to undertake work-based learning and felt this was the right option for me.

• Careers Wales sent me job positions through post and emailed me when new positions came on the website which helped me a lot. Annmarie informed me when the TATA Steel position was promoted on the website.

I am due to start my apprenticeship in the next few weeks, but already feel much happier after leaving my old job.   I cant wait to start!

My career aims are to gain a good apprenticeship and by having meetings with Careers Wales, my CV improved and so did my confidence.  Annmarie taught me how to portray myself in an interview and gave great advice and tips.

From the jobs I did on in the call centre, I did learn a lot of new skills, which will help me in my new apprenticeship and hopefully give me a long-term career.

Now, I don’t have to travel too far to go to work therefore I’ am making huge savings on petrol. I’m also not dreading going to work anymore and am very keen and excited to start my new career.

With the help of Careers Wales I am working towards my career goal.   I did have some rejection whilst doing so, but I took all this as experience which helped me with my interview at TATA Steel.

Advice I would give would be to not give up if you know exactly what your aim is. It can be achieved with the help of Careers Wales and a bit of determination.

During the day there will be a range of events and workshops, including:-

The Bionic Ear

Using models that are 116 times life-size, the show demonstrates how sound travels through the ear to the brain, what happens in different parts of the hearing system, and how each part of the system can fail or “break down” all in a fun and imaginative way.

The Magic of Computer Science – Dr. Paul Curzon

A show demonstrating the maths and computer science behind magic!  Behind the magic of the ‘pick a card’ trick lies some interesting maths and ideas used in computer science.  The show demonstrates how magician’s shuffles have actually led to the development of new ways for computers to work.  Learn about how some of the great Magicians have been Computer Scientists or Mathematicians.

In addition we have a plethora of workshops and interactive stands for students to visit including:

•          Technocamps – Kinect DNA game, Cryptography and Lego leagues

•          Computer Clubs for girls – workshop

•          University of Wales Swansea – demonstration of a mini jet engine (with   plenty of noise!)  built-in conjunction with Rolls Royce…….

…….and much more!  Put the date in your diary…28th June 2012 at The Liberty Stadium, Swansea.