ICT Ireland has unveiled a new transition year work placement programme that will place at least 100 transition year students in technology companies with a view to impressing on them the importance of maths and science.
The programme has been developed in association with Careers Portal which will see 100 new placements made available in technology companies throughout the country. These placements will showcase the vast number of interesting, diverse and well paid job opportunities for young people in the technology sector.
The National Career Skills Awards are run by Careers Portal which equips students and career guidance councillors with information to assist in making informed career choices and are sponsored by McDonald’s Restaurants of Ireland
“I would encourage transition year students to undertake placements within technology related industry,” Ciaran Cannon, the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills said.
“I see it as being in the interests of students and the sector that a greater effort is made to take up work experience opportunities where students can see in a practical way how maths and science are relevant to the workplace,” Minister Cannon said.
Minister Cannon was speaking at the 2011 National Career Skills Awards, which took place in the Department of Education today. The Awards recognise students who show clear progress in the identification of suitable career skills.
The gateway to an exciting career
“We believe that for many young people a qualification in technology is the gateway to an exciting career,” Paul Sweetman, Director, director of ICT Ireland explained.
“With over 3,000 jobs announced in the sector since January, demand for skilled individuals across an array of disciplines is growing. Through a transition year work placement programme, we can introduce students to the possibilities that exist in our sector, not just in technical jobs but in other areas such as sales, marketing and multilingual roles. The challenge now is communicating this to young people and their parents”.
