People from ScottishPower met with high school pupils last week at a careers fair organised by Hamilton Grammar School. The event aimed to promote employment, training and further education opportunities to those beginning to consider their future after school.  Over 30 organisations and businesses took advantage of the opportunity to meet with pupils between 15 and 18 years of age, 350 of which were invited to attend with their parents.

Videos of the ScottishPower’s projects and activities, along with talks from current graduates and apprentices, were used to inform pupils of the range of opportunities offered by the company relevant to them. One of such schemes being promoted was the Engineering Foundation Programme, which combines technical training with college classes, with the opportunity of applying for a full-time apprenticeship upon successful completion of the programme.

Julie Dick, graduate programme manager in Energy Retail said;

“It is really important for us to bring young people into our company, and graduate programmes and apprenticeship schemes are a fantastic way of doing that.

“The energy industry is facing a potential skills gap in the near future, with as many as four in five workers being set to retire over the next fifteen years. It is vital for utility companies to bring in fresh talent to allow the most important upgrades to the electricity network in over half a century to be delivered.

“Apprenticeship schemes offer young people the opportunity to gain experience within a large company and learn vital skills to progress in their future careers. It has been great to be a part of Hamilton Grammar’s career event as it has allowed us to directly engage with the young people who are ideal candidates for our programmes. It is really encouraging to see so much interest and enthusiasm.”

Following the event, head teacher Colin Stewart said;

“We are delighted the evening came together as planned, with such a large number of organisations eager to come along and engage with young people who may well go on to be involved with them in the future.

It is important for pupils to be aware of where their school studies can lead them to, whether that is employment, training, or further education. Hamilton Grammar is active in helping our young people to find out this information and enabling them to make the best choices for them about their lives after school.

It is really important for the pupils to see the interest being taken in them by large organisations like ScottishPower, and to hear about potential paths of employment and training that they are able to seek after finishing school. The feedback from both pupils and parents has been very positive, and we are delighted the evening has been valuable to both them and the attending organisations.”