Louth school competes at AIB Career Skills Competition

On Wednesday 4th May 2022, students from Sacred Heart Drogheda attended the Career Skills Competition Annual Awards Ceremony, each student who took part in the competition was required to demonstrate their understanding of a chosen career, the educational pathways that lead to it, the most relevant Knowledge Requirements and the most important Career Skills needed to be successful in that career. 

The Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD congratulated the winning students celebrating the winning entries. 

Students from Sacred Heart Dalin Sagy and Meda Majauskaite were commended for their projects while  Emily Davis receiving the 3rd place prize

The event which took place in the Clock Tower at the Department of Education, Dublin, was attended by the winning Students, and their Families, Teachers, and Guidance Counsellors. 

The competition was held for the first time since 2019 due to Covid-19.

The competition was developed by CareersPortal, Ireland’s Award Winning & Leading Career Guidance website, and this year is sponsored by AIB, Allied Irish Banks. It has been running for 13 years. 

The competition was open to all Senior Cycle students who were participating in the Transition Year Programme, the Leaving Cert Vocational Programme (LCVP), the Leaving Cert Applied Programme (LCA) or the Leaving Cert Established Programme (LCE) and who had undertaken a Work Experience Placement to enter. 

The aim of the competition is to encourage independent career research among 2nd level students and to foster awareness around the importance of Career Skills, which can be developed as a result of completing a work experience placement. 

Students had the choice to enter the competition in either English or Irish and in a written or Vlog format. Participation in the competition facilitates a rich understanding of a particular occupation and more importantly the pathways to access it and the career skills needed to support it. 

The students were also required to explain which skills they had observed during their work experience and to explain how the skills they developed during their work experience might influence their future career and educational choices.  

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Eimear Sinnott, MD of CareersPortal, said that:

“Research has shown that while academic performance is important, the development of career skills are a greater indicator of future career success. 

“Students need to understand this as early as possible so that they can work on recognising and developing these important employability skills.” CareersPortal supports this process by providing information and resources for students and career seekers who are researching the world of work and the world of education. 

“Having this information readily available can help students make more informed decisions about the career or educational pathway that best suits them. 

“This up-to-date freely available Irish information is informed through collaborating and working closely with key stakeholders including Government Departments, Industry Experts, and Education Providers across the National Framework of Qualifications. 

“It is fantastic to see that the occupations investigated this year continue to be so diverse.  While career Investigations in the area of Education and Teaching (particularly Primary School Teaching) and in the Medical and Healthcare area are always very popular with students, we are delighted to see an interest in occupations across all sectors of the economy.  

“Many occupations where there are currently skills shortages including those in the STEM area such as Biomedical Engineer, Environmental Scientist, Games Developer, Software Developer, Zoologist, Robotics Engineer, Lab Technician made the shortlist”, said Sinnott.  

David McCormack, Deputy Chief People Officer said:

“At AIB we hold economic and social inclusion as one of the key pillars of our sustainability strategy. I am delighted AIB has sponsored the Careers Skills programme for the first time, with the competition aiming to promote the importance of work placement and career skills among second level students.  These skills can be vital in setting students up for their future careers and can prove beneficial to their development.  We wish all today’s winning students the very best of luck.”

Minister Foley congratulated the winners of the 2022 National Careers Skills competition across all categories, and commended the winners on their ability to reflect so well on the career and employability skills which they had developed during their work experience. 

Minister Foley said: 

“I would like to congratulate the winners of the 2022 National Careers Skills competition across all categories.   Work experience is of such importance and the students who took part in this competition have shown a great ability, flexibility and independent research to reflect on this experience, and the career and employability skills they developed.

“The Career Skills Competition aims to promote the importance of career skills and encourage the value of career research. Work placements provide a bridge between education and training and link students and employers; they help bring the world of work to life.

 “I am very pleased to see that many occupations with such a diverse educational pathway were explored on this occasion. The winners of the 2022 competition have explored occupations with so many different entry routes from further education and training including apprenticeships and higher education courses. I congratulate everyone who participated in making the most of this opportunity.”

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