Amy Boyle from Holyrood Secondary in Glasgow graduated from the Career Ready programme in 2017. Find out how the programme helped her find her passion and secure a full-time role at the tech company Cisco.
Before joining the programme, Amy felt lost and had no idea what to do after finishing her studies.
“I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to do when leaving school and didn’t know where to start when it came to building my future. I felt silly being in my final years of school not knowing where I wanted to go, especially when everyone around me had an idea of what they wanted their profession to be.”
It was only after joining the Career Ready programme and being connected with her mentor, Jane, that she found some direction.
“She was someone that listened to me and enhanced my self-confidence – I’d never had someone do that before that wasn’t family or a friend. She made me believe I could do whatever I wanted, no matter what happened after my exams. She told me ‘the results don’t define you’ – and that really stuck with me.”
Gaining an insight into the workplace
Amy’s internship with Glasgow City Council helped her access a range of opportunities to develop workplace skills that she never would have otherwise, and helped her see a future for herself in the professional world.
“We spent each week working in a different area of the business (Marketing, HR, Technical Support and Admin). Each week gave me the opportunity to learn new things, meet new people and really find what I loved. It felt like I was given the opportunity to grow in a business setting that I’d always wanted to work in but was told I never could.”
One of her biggest takeaways from the internship was the importance of soft skills like communication, problem solving and relationship-building.
“Before my internship, I believed that only hard skills mattered – when in fact, soft skills are just as, if not more, valued in the workplace.”
Moving forward with confidence
The Career Ready programme empowered Amy with the self-belief and skills she needed to build a successful future for herself.
“Career Ready provided me with a support network of people who genuinely wanted me to succeed. It provided me with workplace skills that I could use in any role, plus I had something that made me stand out from other people.”
“Since graduating Career Ready, I believe I can truly achieve anything as long as I put my mind to it. 16-year-old me wouldn’t recognise me today!”
Now, Amy’s working at Cisco and studying for her Business Management degree, something she never would have imagined for herself at age 16.
“In my job now, I have the opportunity to work with teams all over the globe and travel all over the UK meeting new colleagues, partners and customers – I love it. One of the Career Ready team actually showed me the job and helped me apply – even though I left the programme years ago, the team still want to help. I can truly say Career Ready changed my life, it is a stepping stone into the real world.”
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