What next for leaving cert students?

We all have skin in the game when it comes to apprenticeships.

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I’m Martin and our company,?CDS Metalwork is based in Ballyfoyle, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland. We have trained some of the best metal fabricators in the Country. I happen to know this, because the guys keep reminding me, almost on a daily basis. They do, however, take great pride in their work and it shows in every job we do. We have worked on many projects from art pieces in Kilkenny to installations such as at the Rolls Royce Head Quarters at Goodwood UK and metalwork as far away as Nigeria and The Virgin Islands with a recent project just completed in New York.

I’m a qualified metal fabricator believe, it or not, so I have a craft apprenticeship qualification. Something I achieved back in 1988. We had apprenticeships back then also. ?Something I am very proud of to this day and something that nobody can take from me. A passport to the world. One of the most sought after apprenticeship qualifications and it’s Irish, better still. I also had the pleasure of representing Ireland and coming 3rd in the World Skills back in the day, so I have skin in the game as they say.

So, ye have the leaving cert done. It’s over. The results are in. What now? ?An apprenticeship is something to consider perhaps. ?Advice and information is probably hard to find and most likely the most of you went looking for that advice yourselves already with little or no help from your career guidance class and your schools. To those schools, career guidance teachers and school principals who actually listen to students who want something other than college, I say thank you, and keep up the good work. To those who haven’t yet, I say, shame on you. You are overlooking and by passing some incredibly talented students who know themselves, that college is just not for them.

We really need our schools to promote trades with as much passion as they do college.

Anyhow, back to you, the stars of the show. ?Already you have succeeded. You’ve done it. You are ready for the next step. The next chapter, in already exciting book.

With the passage of time well behind me at this stage and a mountain of mistakes and scars in toe, ?perhaps I can offer you some pieces of advice;

1.??????Pay attention when things go well,

?but pay extra attention when they don’t because?your mind is like a parachute. It will only work if you open it.

2.??????Discovery your why.

Why are you good at something? Why are you happy? Why are you down perhaps? Why do you get up in the mornings??Understand this and then you will have clarity and direction.?

3.??????Don’t hide from mistakes.

Be honest, listen and ask for help. As they say, the person that never made a

mistake never made anything, so don’t be afraid.?

4.??????Lifelong learning.

You are now on the stairway of education. Don’t get off at this floor, stay

climbing, stay seeking, stay questioning. There are so many ?incredible

courses, and many on your doorstep so keep going.?Education never stops.

5.??????Make connections.

Some of the greatest people in your incredible lives have not come into it yet.

This is only the beginning so open up to meeting new people.?Connecting

with people will take you a lot further than you can ever imagine.

6.??????Respect. Respect

your families. Respect your boss, respect your workmates and most importantly,

respect yourself.?Don’t forget, you can do anything, but you cannot do everything.

7.??????Troubles, we all

have had them in one way or another and there will be many more. Find a way to

park them in the evening before you go home. You’ll find that they are not so

many of them there when you go back to pick them up the next morning.

8.??????Branding,

and this is important in my view. Your name is your brand and it now has a leaving certificate attached to it. It’s up to you how you develop your brand. Go perfect this brand. Be the best that you can be and the strength and credibility of your brand will determine the career and life opportunities that lay before you.?

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In the real world, we need all sorts of people to make our country work but the reliance and importance of trades people cannot, and must not be underestimated. From the moment we wake up in the morning to the moment we lay our heads on the pillow at night we will have experienced the talents and expertise of our various trades people. From the blocks in our homes, to the water in our showers, to the power in our kettle, the mechanics in our transport, the skills in our furniture, the experts in our food preparation, to the grooming of our appearance, we need them all. We depend on craft skills and by getting our youth to discover and embrace the creativity within themselves and allowing them to flourish within, allowing them to question and explore, allowing them to push the boundaries and look for devilment, only then can we really move forward as a nation who can take pride in the level of skills and training we experience. We have some of the best apprenticeship courses, facilities and instructors in the world, so we just need our youth to want them. Parents, guardians, schools and career guidance can and must embrace and encourage this pathway of further education.

Consider your future from the future. What will your past look like? Consider an apprenticeship.

I’ll leave you this, a great man once said;

“The best way to predict your future is to create it!”

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Thank you for reading.????????

I am Martin and I,?am a qualified tradesperson.?

#leavingcert #careerguidance #skillsshortage #generationapprenticeship