Pupils learned about the essential skills needed for the world of work as they took part in a career aspirations workshop during National Careers Week.

Nelson and Colne College’s school liaison team delivered a workshop to Year 10 pupils at Colne Primet Academy, focusing on the talents and character traits needed to succeed in certain professions, and how these can be adapted to different situations.

“The session was a real eye-opener and we learned a lot about transferrable skills. The highlight for me was meeting such an esteemed member of our community, Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson,” said pupil Namrah Ali.

Andrew talked to the group about his own career path and took part in a Q&A session with the students, giving them an opportunity to engage with, and learn from the information provided and inspiring them to think about their careers and what they might like to do.

Sumaiha Altaf said, “I learned about the qualities required to make a perfect employee. The session was really informative and inspired me to work hard to achieve my dream job.”

Sandra Tice, Careers Adviser at Colne Primet Academy, said: “All of the pupils worked on developing the expertise needed to be successful in employment. They learned from the session that there are core employability skills that are needed for almost every job and career. It was great to have MP Andrew Stephenson join the session to share his career history with students and answer their questions.”

National Careers Week aims to provide a focus for careers guidance activity at an important stage in the academic calendar to help support young people leaving education. Themes of the 2015 campaign included future jobs and life skills, areas the Nelson and Colne College school liaison team focused on at Colne Primet Academy.