Eleven students from Clare received awards in the 2018 National Careers Skills competition.
Nine students from Coláiste Muire, Ennis and two from Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon were awarded prizes for their submissions in the Transition Year category.
Ennis studen Éabha Fitzpatrick was awarded joint second prize for her work as an aeronautical engineer while Aoife Daffy was highly commended for her work experience as an accountant.
Commended students in the category were Shona Duffy for arts administration, Aoife Guilfoyle and Finia O’Brien for occupational therapy, Regina Yeung for accountancy, Amy Browne for her work in hospitality and both Maryam Rahman and Michelle Power for their work experience as a doctors.
Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon students Eva Cullinan and Aoibhann De Burca Quinlivan were highly commended for their work experience as an airport search unit officer and a journalist respectively.
The National Career Skill Awards, run by www.careersportal.ie and sponsored by McDonald’s Ireland, recognise students who complete a career investigation in their chosen area of interest.
Each student must be able to demonstrate their understanding of a career, the educational pathways that lead to it, the most relevant knowledge requirements needed, and the most important career skills needed to be successful in this career. They must then be able to explain which skills they developed during their work experience and indicate how their work experience has influenced their career and educational choices.
Participation in the competition facilitates a rich understanding of a particular occupation and more importantly the career skills needed to support it.
Presentations were made by Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills with special responsibility for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD at a ceremony at the Clock Tower at the Department of Education.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.