STUDENTS at Ballakermeen High School have been prepared for life in the "real world" by a number of local employers.
Year 11 students were invited to sign up for a CV and interview workshop to gain and develop the skills they will need to find employment when they leave school.
Key stage four manager Eoin Moriarty came up with the scheme in collaboration with Joy Spence from Junior Achievement.
Joy, a former recruitment specialist, explained: "Junior Achievement is all about preparing students for the world of work and in an economic climate where the job market is contracting young people need all the help and support we, together with schools and our volunteer business partners, can offer.
"These workshops are designed to give students a taste of the 'real' world, an opportunity for them to develop a whole range of interview techniques - from personal presentation to communications skills."
Students were tasked with preparing a CV and then submitting it to one of six employers - Barclays Wealth, Isle of Man Government, Manx Telecom, Marks & Spencer, Swagelok and Tracey Bell.
They were then given a job description in advance of a 35 minute interview with the employer they had given their CV to before the process finished with a feedback session.
Eoin said: "Any opportunities we can provide for students to hone their CV writing and interview skills prior to applying for actual jobs has to be a good thing and we are very grateful that employers have embraced this new initiative.
"Students are definitely nervous going in but from the positive feedback they get they emerge more confident and clearly buzzing from the experience they've had."
72 students volunteered to take part in the project including 16 year old Gina Clarke.
She said: "I signed up for the workshop because I saw it as an opportunity while still at school to experience what job interviews are like. Having done the interview it's certainly given me more confidence for when I go for a job for real."
Conducting Gina's interview were Maria Caldwell and Marie Clare from Marks & Spencer.
Marie said: "Both Maria and I think the mock interviews are a great idea as we see so many young adults fail our interviews due to lack of knowledge and understanding of what companies are looking for.
"The benefit for the students is huge as they get the chance to gain that knowledge before they leave school and have now some idea about what potential employers are looking for regarding their appearance, CV presentation, knowledge of the company and the area in which they wish to work.
"The benefit to Marks & Spencer is that hopefully some of these students would now pass the interview process and become a benefit to our store."
Neville Jewell from Swagelok agrees. He said: "Mock interviews are important because they really do help these young men and women.
"When I was their age there was nothing going on at that time that prepared you for the outside world.
"The job market is more competitive than ever and being able to give these guys the tools to gain that advantage in getting that job is important."
Joy added: "Given that so many students signed up for the workshops it's clear that young people have very genuine concerns about their future careers."
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