STUDENTS at Holyrood Academy’s Sixth Form in Chard have attended seminars as part of their ongoing careers programme.

Firstly, James Garforth, a young IBM graduate ran a simulated graduate recruitment exercise. Students were set a group task and had to apply logic and problem solving skills to tackle a challenging scenario.

Students learnt how their individual approach to the task and ability to work well with other team members were considered of more value than their own ability to work out the correct answer.

Student Skye Gearty said: “The exercise provided a really useful insight into working for a massive corporate company like IBM and made me appreciate the importance of effective problem-solving in the workplace.”

The second speaker was Jo Gill who began her career in healthcare as a midwife. She has been a lecturer in FE and then retrained as an adult nurse.

Jo recently completed her training as a health visitor and is now enjoying her new role in Yeovil.

Jo is keen to explain careers in the health and social care field in order to enlighten students on the day-to-day challenges of the work and to provide information on the different entry routes into the various professions.

Student Dani Adams said: “This was a very informative seminar which I found really motivating. She described a huge variety of opportunities available to us.”

Holyrood’s Sixth Form puts on these seminars every month as part of its careers programme. Each month speakers attend from a wide variety of professions, offering students opportunities and insight into career options available to them.