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19 SUMMER 2015 Developing Ayrshire’s Workforce NETWORKING LUNCH IS A SPEEDY SUCCESS FOR AYRSHIRE COLLEGE IN MAY WE WELCOMED SKILLS DEVELOPMENT SCOTLAND CAREERS ADVISORS TO MEET COLLEAGUES FROM ALL THE CURRICULUM AREAS, STUDENT SERVICES, STUDENT FUNDING, INCLUSIVE LEARNING, MODERN APPRENTICESHIP AND MARKETING TEAMS. follow up for more information with their new contacts. The purpose of the event was to meet face to face to share key information about their areas of interest. Each event was organised like “speed dating” whereby the careers advisors had 5 minutes to visit each of the 12 information stands. During a networking lunch they could From our evaluation we received really positive feedback on the usefulness of the event. The Careers Advisors are really important partners to the College as each one is responsible for a secondary school in Ayrshire where they help young people apply for courses as they prepare to leave school. The most popular comments were: “This event was useful to gain information on the interview procedures for different courses and to find out further information about courses and what spaces are still available.” “It was good to make new contacts, enabling us to know exactly who to speak to if we have questions about particular courses, funding or support.” “Tips on what to include in the personal statement was really useful because we can use this to advise pupils when they are completing their application forms.” We look forward to further information events later this year. Skills Centre of Excellence Lunch and development of the students and hear about further plans for developing Ayrshire’s Young Workforce. North Ayrshire MPs, MSPs and councillors came to our Skills Centre of Excellence in Irvine for a fantastic three-course lunch, cooked and served by our NC Hospitality and Professional Cokkery students. The politicians, including newly elected Philippa Whitford MP, were able to see the impact the centre has made to the learning Meanwhile, MSP Margaret McDougall visited earlier in May. She enjoyed her visit so much that she hopes to be able to invite our students to cook and serve within the Holyrood restaurant in the future!   Watch a video showcasing our Skills Centre of Excellence here...