Thinking about the future can be overwhelming. It’s completely normal to not know what you want your future career to look like and that’s where Skills Development Scotland can help.
Skills Development Scotland is the national careers service and they offer everyone who lives in Scotland free, personalised careers advice and support. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in school, college, university, in or out of work – anyone can speak to a careers adviser for some guidance.
What does a careers adviser help with?
Not sure if a careers appointment is for you? Here’s some of the things a careers adviser can help you with:
- Understanding and identifying your strengths and skills to find jobs that are best suited to you
- How to upskill to get your dream job
- Finding training or funding opportunities
- Course or job applications
- Creating a CV and interview preparation
- Confidence building to make sure you’re your best self in job interviews
All this advice and guidance is free and tailored to you as an individual. There’s so much to be gained from speaking to someone impartial who can give real insight into your strengths.
17-year-old Tiffany worked with Mark, a careers adviser in Midlothian when she moved to Scotland and wasn’t sure what to do after school. She said:
“Meeting Mark was really important for me because, before I met him, I didn’t know anyone, have an education plan or go out much. Mark got me into volunteering and college and I have made friends, so he’s made my life better.
“I would say to others that they should take all the help available and, with that support, you can do anything, if you have a dream.”
How do I speak to a careers adviser?
- Every state school in Scotland has a careers adviser. If you’re at school and not sure who your adviser is, your school office can give you details of where to find your careers adviser.
- At an SDS centre or local community venue near you. Visit My World of Work to find your nearest careers adviser and give them a call to make an appointment.
- You can also call the free national SDS helpline, Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm on 0800 917 8000 to make an appointment.
Looking for some career inspiration?
During Scottish Careers Week there are hundreds of events taking place across Scotland, both in person and online. Events include online sessions on how to become a childminder, a webinar on rural careers, a live cat centre tour from Cats Protection and a webinar on careers in speech and language therapy. Find the full list of events on the Skills Development Scotland’s website.
Visit My World of Work to find loads of careers inspiration – from more than 600 job profiles, online tools to help you build you CV or identify your skills, to thousands of live job vacancies – there’s tons to get you thinking about your next step.
Or follow My World of Work on Instagram and TikTok for some daily careers inspiration, advice and stories.