Bláthnaid
Youth Assembly Member
On Thursday 30 January, the Youth Assembly were invited to give evidence to the Public Accounts Committee in relation to their inquiry into ‘Developing Skills for Northern Ireland’s Future’.
To prepare for the meeting, Youth Assembly Members met online with the Deputy Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Cheryl Brownlee MLA and Committee officials to give our views on careers education. We discussed the availability of qualifications, the quality of careers guidance, vocational and academic qualifications, the skills needs in Northern Ireland, collaboration and duplication of qualifications between schools and FE colleges and the importance of quality work experience. Myself and my fellow Youth Assembly Members Harrison, Paige and Rory presented our views to the Committee.
The Committee meeting took place in the Senate Chamber in Parliament Buildings, which I thought was very special because of all the history associated with that room including the detail and intricate designs of the walls.
MLAs from the Public Accounts Committee present on the day were; Daniel McCrossan MLA (Chairperson), Tom Buchanan MLA, Colin Crawford MLA, Pádraig Delargy MLA, Diane Forsythe MLA, Colm Gildernew MLA and David Honeyford MLA. We were nervous but all of the MLAs were very encouraging and listened carefully to the evidence we gave from our own personal experiences.
The best part for me was when I was able to talk about my experience as a young carer in relation to careers education. I also shared with the Committee my experience of careers education in my school which is a non-selective, co-educational, all ability, inclusive grammar school and one of the biggest schools in Northern Ireland. It was interesting hearing the other Youth Assembly Members’ experiences regarding careers education. It highlighted that I have been very fortunate with the careers education that I have received, as others have not been as lucky.
At the end, the MLAs gave us a goodie bag and a lovely thank you card that each Committee Member had personally signed, along with a written a note of their appreciation. After the meeting, Colm Gildernew MLA spoke in the Assembly Chamber about the involvement of the Youth Assembly in this Committee inquiry and highlighted the importance of hearing young people’s lived experience on this issue.
Since then, we have been asked to help the Committee to hear the views of other young people and there will be a survey going live to soon.
Personally, I believe that this event was very important as careers education directly affects all young people of Northern Ireland. The evidence we gave will really help the Committee make recommendations to improve the quality of careers education for all students.
