Young people urged to explore careers in Fermanagh

The Cross-Border Careers programme, created in partnership with Business in the Community Ireland and Business in the Community Northern Ireland, brought together employers, educators, policymakers and programme partners for a roundtable event at Corick House in Clogher on September 29.

Funded through the Shared Island Civic Society Fund, the programme aims to connect young people aged 16 to 18 with local employers and help them develop the confidence, skills and knowledge to make informed decisions about their futures.

The event is the first of its kind across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Pupils from Erne Integrated College in Enniskillen were among those involved in discussions about the challenges facing young people when considering further education, training and employment.

As part of the programme, participating schools created videos outlining the barriers they believe could potentially hold them back when pursuing future careers.

These included a lack of confidence, financial pressures, uncertainty around choosing the right university degree and difficulties accessing opportunities in rural areas.

Transport was also highlighted as a particular issue, with young people in rural communities potentially limited in the jobs they can access if they do not have a car or someone available to provide transport.

Terry McCartney, Belmore Motel, Enniskillen, getting his point accross during the discussion. (Image: John McVitty)

Students also raised concerns about the cost of further education.

One pupil considering studying history said he felt he was being left with “little choice” but to attend university in the Republic of Ireland, as the focus of history courses in Northern Ireland and England could limit the options available to him.

Sarah Abernathy, Talent Project Specialist at Encirc, said businesses had an important role to play in ensuring young people could access opportunities and develop their careers locally.

Encirc employs around 1,900 people across three sites, including approximately 500 at its Derrylin site.

Ms. Abernathy highlighted the importance of apprenticeships and graduate opportunities in retaining local talent.

“Apprenticeships and graduates are very important. I think as a business, we have an opportunity to make sure we are nurturing talent on both sides of the border, to keep it in the local area, and to maximise the opportunities for both recent students and for our business as well.”

Sarah Abernathy, Talent Project Specalist, Encirc. (Image: John McVitty)

She said Fermanagh businesses often saw young people leave the area to attend university before returning home to pursue their careers.

“We often see young people who are from Fermanagh leave to go to university in Belfast, which is excellent, but we need to get that talent then back home.” Ms. Abernathy said.

“We need to grow the opportunities here, and I think it is really important that young people have that in rural communities, such as Fermanagh.”

Ms. Abernathy said she hoped young people would remain open-minded about the career opportunities available to them.

“I hope young people take away that there are opportunities local, and there are people here who want to invest in people and see them flourish and invest in them.”

Paul Monaghan, Head of Sustainability at Mannok, also encouraged young people to recognise the employment and long-term career opportunities available within their local communities.

Paul Monaghan, Head of Sustainability, Mannok, speaking during the discussion with representatives from Greentown Environmental Ltd and AG Paving & Building Products. (Image: John McVitty)

“Well, I suppose that there's opportunities here. You know, I suppose when we were all sort of young and growing up, we were probably maybe all attracted to the bright lights of the maybe the larger cities and so on,” he said.

“And I think that's fine. I think that's okay for people to go away, but sometimes you need to go away to come back home.

“But I think the important thing is that young people realise is that they have employment and long-term career opportunities here, like in the local area as well, that they can come back here as well.”

Discussions with local business leaders at the roundtable also highlighted concerns around infrastructure across Fermanagh, as well as the potential loss of mutual recognition of qualifications across the border, including differences between BTECs and Applied A-Levels.

Participants also called for schools to be given dedicated time to allow pupils to explore the range of careers and opportunities available to them, whether through weekly or monthly sessions.

Tory McVeigh, Head of Careers at Erne Integrated College, said she hoped the cross-border element of the programme would inspire students to consider opportunities both locally and across the border.

Tory McVeigh, Head of Carrers, Erne Integrated College, in conversation during The Cross-Border Carrers Event at Corrick House. (Image: John McVitty)

“The cross-border connections for our students will hopefully enable them to gain powerful connections and experience for employment in things like engineering, infrastructure, all over north and south, so wonderful for them.”

“I like to think that they will take away knowledge of the pathways available to them, so for example apprenticeship pathways, degree apprenticeships and so on.” Ms. McVeigh said.

Justin Kerr, Head of the Careers Service within the Department for the Economy, said it was important for the service to be involved in cross-border events.

“It's very important for us to be involved in cross-border events,” he said.

“We have clients from the South as well who come to our Careers Service for advice, and also we have young people who are interested in working in border regions or across the border.”

Mr. Kerr said the event could help young people learn more about opportunities with local employers and understand the different courses and career pathways available.

“Not everything must be Belfast or Derry. So, it's very important that, as a careers service, we pass on as much information to our clients about jobs in the regions to grow the regions as well. So regional balance is important for us as a department.”

He added that not every course would be available locally and some young people may need to travel elsewhere for further or higher education, but said they could still return to the area for employment.