Students take the plunge at the National Marine Aquarium

A group of 20 Plymouth students were thrown in at the deep end for a lesson at the National Marine Aquarium (NMA).

The students, who are all taking part in Skills Aid Plymouth (SAP) along with their learning mentors, were treated to a tour of the aquarium followed by a lesson involving a fish dissection, to discover more about the biology of the fish that are cared for by the Aquarium.

SAP is a joint project between the City Council and Plymouth’s Rotary Clubs, who have provided the majority of the volunteer mentors working on the scheme. It is designed to help pupils understand and gain important employability skills which will improve their chances in an increasingly competitive job market and broaden their career options. Each young person has been assigned a personal mentor who will accompany them on a series of nine business led visits hosted by some of Plymouth's key businesses.

The scheme involves two schools, Eggbuckland Community College and Sir John Hunt. Young people likely to benefit most from the scheme had their names put forward by their teachers.

Councillor Sue McDonald Cabinet Member for Children and Young People said: “Skills Aid Plymouth is a great scheme that targets young people in need of a little extra guidance and support to help them stay on the right track and achieve in life. We are absolutely committed to helping our young people achieve the best possible start in life and projects like this are key in helping them to achieve their full potential. I’d like to  thank the National Marine Aquarium for hosting such an interesting lesson for both pupils and mentors.”

Nicola Murray, Discovery and Learning Manager at the NMA said: "This is the second year the National Marine Aquarium has supported the Skills Aid Plymouth programme by helping young people to explore and understand the roles available within the Aquarium. The visit focused on communication and wider employment skills and opportunities. We believe SAP helps the students to realise it’s not just academic skills that are important for careers and that a passion for the job goes a long way. We're committed to delivering an engaging education and learning programme to raise awareness and the importance of marine conservation both locally and globally." 

To kick off the SAP scheme, the first group of 14 and 15 year olds met with their new mentors at a launch event in September at Plymouth Argyle.