A team of nine staff from Waterford City & County Council recently facilitated a JA interview preparation workshop with transition year students from De La Salle College, Waterford.
The workshop enabled students, through interactive activities, to understand the expectations of future employers both at 
interview and during employment. By focusing on the development of students’ interpersonal, communication and teamwork skills, students developed a realisation of the attributes necessary to succeed in the workplace. Following on from which, each student presented themselves for a mock interview with a volunteer from Waterford City & County Council. After a successful morning the students were presented with a certification of Achievement in recognition of the dedication they showed throughout the day.
Maureen Fitzsimons from Waterford City & County Council commented “It was a pleasure working with students from TY1; the workshop was designed to challenge and inspire students as they plan ahead for their future careers. Students were given an insight into the world of work and an opportunity to take part in an interview and receive feedback from staff volunteers. Their level of focus on their future was very impressive.”
Paul Ogle, a teacher at De La Salle College, Waterford said: “I felt the main benefits of this seminar and day came in the form of helping to open the students up to the differences and challenges of a new environment, where they perhaps don’t see the same need to conform to a set of unwritten or less tangible rules. It also showed how everything we do or say in various contexts can and are interpreted by the people who receive them and not always in the way we intended. This was extremely useful and a good eye opener to the real world of adult living in terms of jobs, skills, communication and things to keep in mind for student’s futures.”