New Year, New Opportunities
Our guest blogger - Sector Manager for Skills for Life, Learning and Employment - Karen Downs, writes:
Did you know, Friday 1st January is Commitment Day and Saturday 2nd January is Motivation/Inspiration Day? The New Year can be a really good opportunity to evaluate our lives. This year, more than ever.
We know that life has been pretty tough in 2020, with many changes made to work and education. With time to reflect on what is important to us, many of us have had to rethink our goals. The pandemic forced many to consider a career change, and we know that young people face an uncertain future as a result of COVID-19.
For some, this time can be a New Opportunity – the time to start on a new journey; consider new options; build new skills; and gain qualifications.
If you have been away from formal education for a little while, or you left school without qualifications, this can seem like a big step. That’s where we come in. Perth College UHI offer ‘New Opportunities’ courses to help you make that transition into Further Education, and build the skills you need to become a successful student.
Some of the things our courses include, are:
‘Core Skills’ - learning these will help you to progress with your journey;
‘Personal Development and Employability’ units help you to build confidence, and develop the transferable skills you need for the future;
Our ‘Vocational’ tasters also help you to make informed choices about your career.
We work closely with our curriculum areas across the College to help you to progress onto your chosen vocational programme.
Our team of staff are very experienced and skilled in supporting you through the transition into College, and class sizes are a maximum of 17. Our Personal Academic Tutors (PATs) and Student Development Workers also support you to develop positive relationships - with both staff and fellow students - as well as guide you through your coursework.
Most of our students progress onto other courses right across the College, and one of the best parts about our job is seeing them flourish in their new areas. We sometimes say it takes us a very long time to walk around the campus, as we bump into many students who started their college career in New Opportunities and want to update us about how they’re getting on.
In usual circumstances, we deliver all courses face-to-face in the classroom. The move to a blended learning approach, has been challenging. However, our staff and students have embraced the challenge of learning through Brightspace (our virtual learning platform) and we will consult with our students to explore how we will use this moving forward. The provision of laptops and dongles for all students at Perth College UHI struggling to access their online classes last year, was very much welcomed by staff and students. This meant that those who didn’t have access to a device or Internet, were not excluded from their education. Of course, we look forward to a time when we’re able to see our students more regularly and will work hard to get back to face-to-face delivery, when it is safe to do so.
Our Moving On and Gateway to Creative Industries student, Caitlin Campbell, explained:
““I was on the Moving On course last year at Perth College UHI. It is a supported course that helps people who struggle with anxieties, low confidence and who maybe didn’t cope in a school environment.
“It has caring atmosphere, and the staff were very nice. It gave students opportunities to work together, socialise and develop themselves and gave me the confidence and strength to move onto this course.
“I then chose the Gateway to Creative Industries course because it includes art - which I love.
“The staff have always been very supportive. This course has helped me to gain more confidence. I’ve also had a lot of different experiences this year which helped me narrow down what I like doing and what isn’t for me. If you are thinking about this course, then I would say “go for it”! This course is a great stepping stone to other creative courses.””
Feel inspired? Why not take the opportunity to think about your own goals for the up and coming year, and consider where you would like to be career-wise? Our New Opportunities department is a great place to start, and we would love to support you on your new journey. #FindYourFutureHere
