SERC has launched a new inititive to help its students ‘Get the Edge’.
Over 2,000 from the college took part in the programme, designed to help them gain vital employability skills, including problem-solving and communicating solutions, as well as achieving an additional City and Guilds qualification.
Students in small teams competed in the challenge to identify an innovative solution to a specific problem, tailored towards each vocational area, which they then presented to judging panels.
Particularly aimed at new students, the Get the Edge competition was designed as an exciting and enjoyable way to learn about the college and meet new friends in a fun and informal way.
Ken Webb, principal and chief executive, explained: “At SERC we are committed to providing every student with the opportunity to improve their employability skills.
“In an increasingly challenging job market this has never been more important.
“Employers have informed us that a qualification is not enough anymore and students need to have much more in terms of skills and experience. In response SERC has launched the Get the Edge Initiative.”
The winning group of students were crowned College Champions at a special event held in SERC’s Downpatrick campus, each picking up an iPad.
Martin Keenan from winning team Lequitch said: “I’d definitely recommend Get the Edge to other students and freshers.
“I wanted to build up my confidence and the SERC Get the Edge Challenge helped me do exactly that. The initiative really encouraged me to go out of my comfort zone.
“Our team devised a new innovative sport called Lequitch which is an amalga-mation of La Cross and a fictional sport which appears in Harry Potter called Quidditch,” he added.
“The idea was to design a new, low cost sport that would interest kids.
“The most useful thing I learnt through doing the challenge was the importance of communication, managing my time efficiently and meeting new friends — that’s something that will come in handy, especially close to deadlines and exams.”