Deeside College team first to pick up prestigious careers award

Coleg Cambria received a prestigious award after developing new guidance for employability staff and students.

The Jobs Growth Wales+ team at Deeside was lauded for introducing a long-term strategy for lecturers, learners, and support workers at the college.

The department’s successful pilot project saw them presented with the acclaimed Careers Development Award from Careers Wales.

The award was designed to recognise an educational establishment’s “commitment to continuous quality improvement” and meet the Welsh Government’s statutory entitlement for Careers and the World of Work for 11 to 19 year-olds in Wales.

Whilst institutions can receive the award after working towards it for a year, the commitment lasts for three years and involves a cyclical process of auditing the current careers support provision, self-evaluating and implementing a plan to develop this further.

Employability Mentor and Jobs Growth Wales+ Curriculum Lead Paula Blundell, and Samantha Moore, Curriculum Director of Jobs Growth Wales+, have led on the scheme for Cambria since January.

“We were pleased to be the first at Cambria to take this on as in future all areas of the college will follow suit,” said Paula.

“It was a chance for us to focus on employability needs, reflect on our approach and standards for staff and students – and look at what we do well and where we can improve.

“It was a really useful exercise and will allow us to be even more efficient going forward.”

Samantha added: “It encompassed everything from our Welsh language provision to health and safety and other legislation and was followed up by a plan targeting specific areas so we could draw-up bespoke actions for our team and the learners.

“We focused on the Welsh language, numeracy and literacy, and wellbeing and resilience given the challenges of the pandemic.

“This will be of huge value to our staff and students so we would like to thank Careers Wales for their support and this award.”

Mark Owen, Head of Services to Stakeholders at Careers Wales, said: “We’re delighted to have presented the Careers Development Award to Coleg Cambria this year.

“It’s so important that those continuing into post-16 education are receiving the right guidance and support that they need to plan their future careers effectively.

“Working with our CWRE coordinators to develop a robust careers and world of work programme can have many benefits, including improving young people’s self-esteem, enhancing their career exploration and decision-making skills and progressing educational outcomes.

“We look forward to continue working closely with Coleg Cambria to support the further development of careers support to their students.”