A Lochaber school-leaver who found that she was too late to apply for a
college course has taken another direction and found herself working at the
heart of further education in the area.
After being employed as a Skillseeker administrator for a year at Lochaber
College, 18-year-old Karena Hutton is now a full-time student at the centre
of learning there.
"I wanted a job where I could earn money and gain a qualification at the
same time, so I took advice from my careers officer and joined the
Skillseekers programme," said Karena from Caol, Fort William. "Working at the college has given me a lot of good experience in a range of different
types of work as well as more confidence when dealing with the public. It
has also been a good stepping stone to furthering my education."
Karena gained a level II Scottish Vocational Qualification in administration on the Skillseekers programme and is now working towards an HND in business administration.
The Skillseekers programme is the national government training programme
for young people and is managed locally by Lochaber Enterprise. The
majority of Skillseekers in Lochaber are employed by the organisations for
which they work and are paid the rate for the job, in addition to receiving
on the job training.
Whilst training at the college, Karena's eyes were opened to the world of
finance - an area she wanted to know more about. This interest led to her
completing a book-keeping and accounting course at Nevis Training Centre.
Lochaber College have also helped Karena to complete the European Computer Driving Licence - a recognised standard of computing Confidence which can be used by anyone across Europe to improve their information technology skills.
Head of skills development at Lochaber Enterprise Morven Cameron said:
"Karena is a good example of how flexible the Skillseekers programme can
be. It provides young people with access to quality training and allows
them to progress to higher level courses if they want to."
Looking to the future, Karena said: "I may go on to do a BA in business
administration or even pursue a career in accountancy as I prefer the
financial side of business. The training opportunities which I have been
able to take advantage of over the last 18 months have made a big
difference to me and I would recommend this type of training to any young
person."
For further information about Skillseekers contact Magz Cormack at Lochaber Enterprise on 01397 704326.
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