Press Release
"One year, two placements, lots of experience!" - Graduates present their work
Left to right: Cheryl Cluness, Doreen Thomason, Lizzie Ratter, Paul Gaffney, Alexander Collins, Jenna Leask, James Stewart, Craig Baxter, Stuart Hay.
The participants in this year’s Graduate Placement Scheme gave their final presentations in the Council Chamber yesterday (Wednesday). The five graduates spoke about the projects they have been working on over the past year to an audience of Councillors and Council managers.
This is the first year that the placements have been divided up into two six-month projects across two different services, resulting in some diverse experiences and working environments.
One of the graduates, Alexander Collins spent his first six months working in the Shetland Library, developing the 24 hour Library online facility, and then moved to Roads to work on improving the efficiency of their road works permit system.
Alexander said, “Going from the Library, a predominantly female working environment to Roads was certainly a big change. It has been fascinating to work across two such different workplaces within the same organisation and I have enjoyed being able to develop resources that will be used within the Council for years to come”.
Another graduate who experienced two very different areas of the Council was Paul Gaffney, who began in Active Schools before moving to KIMO (Local Authority International Environmental Organisation).
“With a background in environmental chemistry, I never expected to be working within Active Schools but it has been fantastic to have the chance to be involved with something completely out of my comfort zone” said Paul. “The scheme has definitely given me a better understanding of the wide range of services the Council delivers and has helped me to gain some work experience at a time when a lot of graduates are struggling.”
Paul has made the most of his time in Shetland, taking part in the Cruise in Company for the Tall Ships.
“I was really lucky to sail on the Wylde Swan - a super ship with a fantastic crew and bunch of trainees; it has definitely made me want to do more sailing.”
James Stewart’s work within Environmental Health was equally diverse and rewarding. “One day I would be in the office working on promotional material for the latest dog fouling campaign, the next I would be out in someone’s home, on a pest control job. I have really enjoyed the diversity of this placement and how quickly I was made to feel part of the team within Environmental Health.”
Jenna Leask spoke about her project within Human Resources where she created an online toolkit for Council managers. This involved interviewing over 33 managers to create a central online resource of relevant information to make it easier for them to access Council policies, forms and procedures.
“I’d like to thank the Council for giving me this opportunity and in particular the staff at HR for their help and support whilst I worked on the Manager’s Toolkit” said Jenna. “The experience that the Graduate Placement Scheme has given me has been invaluable and I am grateful to have been a part of it!”
Craig Baxter, the graduate within KIMO and the Heritage Service feels that he has developed both personally and professionally throughout the year. Craig said:
“It has been really rewarding to see the amount that I can achieve with professional guidance and support. Over the year I have enjoyed gaining experience of professional research and have developed an insight into Shetland’s unforgiving weather. One year, two placements, lots of experience!”
Training and Skills Co-ordinator Doreen Thomason, who runs the Graduate Placement Scheme said:
“It has been wonderful to see the graduates get the opportunity to present in the Chamber today. This is the culmination of a year of hard work and it’s great to hear that they have all gained so much from their experiences working with the Council.
We have 12 new graduates starting with us on the 12th of September, so let’s hope that we have another successful year of the scheme.”
The graduates were joined by Lizzie Ratter and Cheryl Cluness from the Learning School who spoke about their experiences being part of the Global Classroom. Five young Shetlanders took part in the Learning School this year, which involved travelling to the USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, The Czech Republic, Germany and Sweden to deliver workshops and lessons to young people relating to their research topic, “The Future Teacher, Future Learner, Future School”.