A special ceremony in Douglas saw 12 pupils from four of the island’s secondary schools graduate from the Career Ready Programme.

The two-year course is designed to bridge the gap between school and the work place teaching pupils skills not easily acquired in the day-to-day curriculum.

Young people came from Ramsey Grammar, Queen Elizabeth II, Castle Rushen and St Ninian’s schools to attend the ceremony at Noa Bakehouse.

The programme comprises four elements: workplace visits and internships, along with masterclasses on specific topics and mentoring, and all the pupils received certificates.

Education Minister Graham Cregeen said: ’The programme gives students the skills they cannot learn in the classroom, such as interview skills and etiquette in the workplace.’

The programme’s co-ordinator Joanne Davies thanked everyone who had put time and effort into supporting the programme which, she said, was to ensure the school curriculum meets employers’ needs. This is done through a combination of classroom learning and direct contact with workplace and employers.

Pupils who benefited from the programme were keen to sing its praises.

Rose Ten Donkelaar said: ’My internship at Noc396 was fantastic. I got to work with a young, innovative team which nurtured my strengths and helped with interview and presentation skills. I had a brilliant summer.’

Fellow pupil Morgan Skillicorn did his internship at Netcetera. He added: ’My internship was brilliant. I worked with a great bunch of people. My confidence has developed: I used to be shy but the internship has improved this no end.’

Nathan Hill from Castle Rushen completed his internship at GTS where he improved his technical IT skills, which he described as a ’great experiece’.

Placements were also completed at PDMS, Hansard Global, AFD Software, IT Works, WiManx, Future Tech Ltd, Isle of Man Post Office, Annexico, Galileo Fund Services Ltd, Isle of Man government eepartments: E-gaming, project managers, network architects, e-business managers, Lloyds banking group and Caledonia Ltd.

The evening ended with a speech by Duncan McLeod from ADF Software in Ramsey. Mr McLeod is a member of the Local Advisory Board for the Career Ready programme and mentor to some of the pupils, which he described as an ’enjoyable and rewarding experience’.

The Career Ready initiative has been backed by the Department of Economic Development, Department of Education and Children, Manx ICT Association and is also supported by many employers in the Isle of Man.