Press Release
Date: Friday 8 February 2008 (NR/06/08)
Coleraine Teachers Learn more about Employability on a Mystery Bus Tour
Teachers involved in CCEA’s Coleraine area Education for Employability Pilot programme were treated to a Mystery Bus Tour visiting various local employers including Beveridge Engineering and the Radisson Roe Hotel. The Chartered Institute of Civil Engineers has also been sending graduates out into local primary schools over the last few weeks as part of the initiative.
Education for Employability was introduced to schools as part of the revised curriculum in September 2007. Its aim is to ensure that all young people develop the personal qualities, skills, knowledge, understanding and attitudes which will give them a strong foundation for lifelong learning and work.
Cecil Holmes, CCEA, commented,
By getting teachers out into the work place, and bringing graduates into the schools, it helps teachers and learners appreciate what Education for Employability is trying to achieve.
Real experiences in various workplaces give teachers the confidence to go back to the classroom and talk about employment and the skills and qualities needed.
Robert Beveridge of participating employers Beveridge Engineering commented;
At Beveridge Engineering, we are constantly looking for potential employees who have not only the skills to succeed in the engineering industry, but who have the right attitude too. We are delighted to support CCEA in implementing Education for Employability because as an employer, we can see the benefits it will have for us as well as the school pupils.
Wendy Blundell from ICE commented:
ICE has been leading the Building Bridges Scheme in Coleraine. In line with Education for Employability, it promotes teamwork, planning and problem solving whilst also introducing pupils in Coleraine to the possibility of engineering as a career option.
EmployabilityFEST 08 will take place from 12-23 May and is the ideal opportunity for employers and schools to work together. Further information can be obtained by contacting Melanie Mulligan at mmulligan@ccea.org.uk
Additional Information
Schools involved in Mystery Tour
Castleroe Primary School
Coleraine Academical Institution
Coleraine College
Coleraine High School
Dominican College
Kilrea Primary School
Mill Strand Integrated Primary School
Sandelford School
St Colum’s Primary School
St John’s Primary School
St Joseph’s College
St Paul’s College
Schools involved in Building Bridges
Millstrand Integrated, with St Colum's PS - 23rd Jan
St Johns PS - 14th Feb
Castleroe PS, with Kilrea visiting on 22nd Feb
Education for Employability
Education for Employability was introduced in schools as part of the Revised Northern Ireland Curriculum in primary and post primary schools in September 2007.
Its aim is to ensure that all young people develop the personal qualities, skills, knowledge, understanding and attitudes which will give them a strong foundation for lifelong learning and work.
Primary
In primary schools, Education for Employability underpins the Revised Northern Ireland Curriculum. This means that from an early stage, what primary school children learn will be made real and relevant in the context of the world outside the window.
CCEA have produced resources such as the Anything’s Possible Enterprise StorySacks for Key Stage 1 and Out of this World for Key Stage 2.
Post Primary
At post primary level, Education for Employability encompasses three dimensions under the wider focus of Learning for Life and Work:
- Working in the Local and Global Economy
- Career Planning
- Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
It is given discrete timetabled time like any other subject.
Many schools have already implemented various aspects of Education for Employability in advance of its introduction in September.
EmployabilityFEST ‘08
12 - 23 May sees the return of EmployabiityFEST for the second time.
Schools and employers across the country that were involved in various Employability related activities last year enjoyed it so much that CCEA has decided to do it again.
This is an attempt to forge closer links between schools and employers to achieve the Employability agenda.
EmployabilityFEST is officially launched in on Monday 12th May. Further information will be available soon.
Media enquiries to Frances Logue on (028) 9026 1298, Mobile 07747 560516. E mail flogue@ccea.org.uk
ENDS
Note to Editors
CCEA is the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment.
CCEA places learners and those who have a concern for their educational and personal development at the forefront of its thinking. CCEA's mission is:
"To enable the full potential of all learners to be achieved and recognised"
What we do
CCEA is a unique educational body in the UK , bringing together the three areas of curriculum, examinations and assessment.
Advising Government – on what should be taught in Northern Ireland ’s schools and colleges.
Monitoring Standards – ensuring that the qualifications and examinations offered by awarding bodies in Northern Ireland are of an appropriate quality and standard.
Awarding Qualifications
– as Northern Ireland’s leading awarding body we offer a diverse range of qualifications, such as GCSEs, including the new GCSE Double Award specifications in vocational subjects, GCE A and AS levels, Entry Level Qualifications, and Graded Objectives in Modern Languages.
- CCEA also offers a range of Awards and Certificates in Education, Training and Skills (ACETS) targeted at learners who want to get
the knowledge, understanding and skills needed
to hit the ground running in the world of work.
