Over the past three years offshore accommodation specialist ARCADION and Aboyne Academy have been forging a strong and mutually beneficial partnership.
The fact that distance separates ARCADION, based in Dyce, from Aboyne Academy’s location in upper Deeside has not been a hindrance to the links between the two organisations. A strong commitment and desire to have a sustainable relationship was agreed by the school and the company at the outset and this has only strengthened since initial meetings back in 2012.
Commenting on the success of the partnership ARCADION Technical Director Clive Gregory said “In order to ensure we have the skills needed by local business to grow our economy, connecting our schools to jobs in the market is key. The more we can grow our own skill base, the more wealth we retain in the region. From our initial introduction ARCADION and Aboyne Academy have established a formal Partnership Charter and have built a strong two-way relationship between the business and the school.
ARCADION are keen to improve and promote business engagement in schools. Our partnership is not about being a source of cash to the school, although we try to help where we can, but more about providing real life demonstrations of how we function as a business, how young people can engage with that to enhance their own prospects for employment, and for the development of both our own and the school’s staff working in these different scenarios. We try to help with opportunities that are relevant to the world of work and assist in the exchange of expertise between the school and the workplace”.
Raymond Jowett, Rector at Aboyne Academy, is equally enthusiastic and has been delighted to see a wide range of opportunities for pupils and staff resulting from joint work with ARCADION. “Working with ARCADION has enabled pupils to have experiences that would otherwise not have been possible. The positive way in which staff from the company have engaged with pupils has enabled several faculties in the school to give pupils unique real life opportunities and insight to the world of work and industry. Some examples of this include involving pupils in helping ARCADION design their stands for Offshore Europe 2013 and 2015, enhancing the range of annual achievement awards for pupils, helping pupils to prepare for job applications and interviews, supporting enterprise education and providing unique project design challenges to classes in our Art, Design and Technology Faculty. This greatly supports the school in delivering the evolving Curriculum for Excellence programme. In addition the provision of some additional resources to the school has also been of great benefit to us”.
In addition to working with the Art, Design and Technology Faculty there has been joint working with the Health, Business Education and Guidance staff teams. In all cases there has been very tangible benefit to pupils. The school and company are strongly committed to further developing and strengthening their partnership in the years ahead.
For further information contact Raymond Jowett, Rector, Aboyne Academy, 01339 887722 or Lisa Cormack, ARCADION Business Co-ordinator, 0845 217 2020.