Academy pupils engineer a real work experience

A LOCAL engineering firm gave young people an insight into the world of work by setting them a special task.

Over 100 pupils from Forres Academy were asked to create mini replicas of the Forres railway pedestrian bridge by AJ Engineering, who were contracted to design, fabricate and install the actual bridge as part of the Aberdeen-Inverness Improvement Project.

The challenge saw, as part of S5’s induction, students read plans, fabricate parts to exact measurements and build the bridge in cardboard.

AJ Engineering quality manager Jazmin Kellas was impressed by how the pupils handled it.

She said: “We have a close relationship with Forres Academy and were delighted when they approached us to see if we could help with the Induction Day. The brief was to set a challenge which made the pupils think about what future roles they may take on when they eventually get started in the world of work themselves. We decided on using the footbridge as it was a real project that is tangible and achievable, but also a challenge. There are quirky design features, so we thought it would be interesting to see how many picked up on them. The bridge is also two colours, so we kept that design element and only gave them just enough materials to complete the build. We tried to make it as lifelike as possible.”

The pupils were split into two teams working on three workshops. They were shown the actual drawings the firm worked to and told how the process worked.

Jazmin has worked at AJ Engineering for a year.

She said: “It was fascinating seeing how differently each group approached it. The whole day was a huge success and the pupils showed such enthusiasm for the challenge.”

Depute Head Teacher Sandra Mcculloch confirmed the workshops were a huge success.

She said: “This challenging workshop highlighted a number of core skills such as leadership, communication, problem solving and responsibility.

“The whole S5 induction event was themed Bridging the Gap. It aims to highlight the move the pupils are choosing to make from compulsory education in S1-4 into post-16 education.”