Showcasing careers in Belfast City Council - Business In The Community

Showcasing careers in Belfast City Council

Through Employment East’s Employment Forum, Belfast City Council partnered with two schools to tackle disadvantage, raise aspirations of the participating pupils and open their eyes to the world of work.

The issue
Through Employment East’s Employment Forum*, Belfast City Council partnered with two schools for the project duration, one primary and one post primary. Both partnerships had the overarching aim of tackling disadvantage, raising aspirations of the participating pupils and opening their eyes to the world of work.

What Belfast City Council did

Cregagh Primary School
A visit from the zoo was arranged and gave participating pupils the chance to hear from a zoo keeper, meet the animals, and learn about jobs within the zoo. A visit to City Hall was also arranged with pupils receiving a historical tour of the building as well as an insight into different departments within the Council.

St Joseph’s College
Various year groups benefitted from interventions from the Council in the form of mock interviews, a tour of the Lord Mayor’s Parlour and City Hall, a visit from the zoo, a workplace visit to Lady Dixon Park and a careers carousel – all delivered with the aim of increasing awareness of the world of work and the jobs within the Council. The current Lord Mayor of Belfast is a past pupil of the school and was a chance for her to present at the school Prize Day.

The impacts

Pupils from both schools found tangible benefits from the activities they attended. The pupils from St Joseph’s College made the following comments on various activities:

  • It was great, a fantastic day
  • Very informative – a great opportunity for us
  • Shocked at how many jobs there were
  • The Council is empowering towards women
  • Helping females aspire towards jobs
  • We got time with different staff – time to ask them questions about their jobs
  • Staff were very honest and told us the pros and cons of their jobs. They didn’t hide anything.