School pupils get Career Ready at Edinburgh Napier

School pupils have been getting ‘career ready’ at Edinburgh Napier this month as part of a nationwide programme aimed at enabling young people to develop the skills, confidence, and experience needed to kickstart their future.

For the last four weeks, Edinburgh Napier has hosted two pupils - Mohammad Hamim from Tynecastle High School and Ruqaya Hussain from Royal High School – as part of the Career Ready programme.

Hosted by Muniba Khan and Lorel Butalid from the University’s People and Finance teams, the paid internship has seen both pupils gain an insight into many facets of university life as they begin to plan for life after high school and prepare for the transition into higher education and the working world.

The Career Ready programme has been in operation for more than 20 years and aims to change lives and boost social mobility by connecting young people aged 15-18 to workplace opportunities and support.

This is the first year that Edinburgh Napier University has taken part in the initiative with the pupils undertaking a varied and busy schedule of activities throughout their time with the University.

From attending CV, cover letter and mock interview workshops with the University’s Employability and Careers team and meeting academics from their area of interest – Law and Accounting – to shadowing the Finance, HR, Alumni and Creative teams, attending external events at other organisations in the city like BlackRock, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce and Multrees  – no two days have been the same as they’ve gained a full and inclusive experience of what working at Edinburgh Napier is like.

At the same time, the school pupils at Edinburgh Napier were also joined by another pupil at BE-ST (Built Environment – Smarter Transformation), Scotland's national innovation centre for construction, which is hosted by the University.

Carolann Begbie, Director of People, IS and Student Services at Edinburgh Napier and a former mentor on the Career Ready programme, was delighted to welcome the pupils to the University.

She said: “We were delighted to welcome Mohammad and Ruqaya to Edinburgh Napier as part of the Career Ready programme.

“Providing opportunities for young people to gain meaningful workplace experience is incredibly important, helping them to build confidence, develop valuable skills and make informed decisions about their future.

“As a university with a strong commitment to widening access and supporting social mobility, we are proud to play a role in helping talented young people explore the opportunities available to them.

“The enthusiasm, curiosity and professionalism shown by both pupils throughout their internship has been outstanding, and we look forward to building on this partnership in the years ahead.”

Fiona Forrest-Anderson, Head of Employability and Careers at Edinburgh Napier, said: “The Career Ready programme is a truly difference making experience for young people.

“We are a university that is committed to supporting our students to become career ready and highly employable and are delighted our support can now extend to give young people early experience of working or studying at a university.”

Muniba Khan and Lorel Butalid, who have both been looking after the pupils during their internship, said: “Hosting Career Ready interns has been a genuinely rewarding experience and a real milestone for Edinburgh Napier as we take part in the programme for the first time.

“We felt privileged to be selected as mentors and to help shape what we hope has been a meaningful and enriching experience for Mohammad and Ruqaya.

“Seeing the University through the eyes of young people reminds us to remain curious, adaptable and open to new ideas.

“Their enthusiasm, energy and fresh perspectives have been infectious, rubbing off on all of us and keeping us on our toes as we worked to make their time with the University as valuable and memorable as possible.

“They have offered valuable insights into the priorities, expectations and ambitions of their generation, helping us better understand how we can continue to create environments, services and opportunities that truly meet the needs of future students and colleagues.

“While we hope they have learned from us, their contributions have challenged us to think differently, communicate more effectively and continue evolving the way we work and engage with others.”

Planning has already commenced for the next cohort of Career Ready internships. If you work at Edinburgh Napier and would like to help host a school pupil, please get in touch with Fiona Forrest-Anderson on F.Forrest-Anderson@napier.ac.uk for more information.