West Lothian has been working towards creating a better skills base for all, particularly focusing on opening opportunities for students and the future workforce while showcasing potential career paths.

Recently, over 800 pupils from across 25 West Lothian schools took part in a pioneering Farm to Fork ‘agri-event’, giving them an insight into a variety of industries and career opportunities associated to the land-based and hospitality industries.

The showcase, organised in partnership with Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) West Lothian Regional Group and Lantra Scotland successfully provided an understanding about how skills can be gained around the entire food chain – from ‘Farm to Fork’.

The pupils from the region’s Primary 7, S1 and S2 year groups, took part in a broad range of interactive workshops developed by employers across the food development, horticulture and hospitality industries, giving the pupils a taster of the industry career choices available to them in the next few years.

Des Martin, Learning Resources Manager at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), Oatridge, said: “The Farm to Fork event was an outstanding success. Local schoolchildren learned more about the many different industries involved in producing the food we eat. It was great to see so many youngsters inspired by the range of interactive activities and a huge thank-you goes to everyone involved.”

Aynsley Bates, Principal Teacher, Linlithgow Primary School said “The event certainly encapsulated what DYW is all about. Our learners were fully engaged with every session. They could easily see how skills in the classroom could translate to the work place. The event also highlights many different job opportunities and industries for our young people.”

Now in its 4th year, the PumpIt Up Challenge is a proven highly successful project between Mitsubishi Electric Air Conditioning, West Lothian Chamber of Commerce and all local secondary schools. The PumpIt Up challenge is designed to give pupils a better understanding of the science and technology involved in green energy and the workings of the Mitsubishi Electric Heat Pump.

The challenge for the S3 students is to design a heat pump and is judged on their successful group working to come up with an idea, their creative, presentation and literacy skills as well as encouraging them to be active in STEM subjects.

Linda Scott, CEO, West Lothian Chamber commented that:

“The PumpIt Up Challenge has shown to be a great encouragement to the young people to be active participants in the school while thinking about possible career path”