Schools Programme
Zak Gilday's story
It’s often described as the best days of your life, but sometimes the reality is school isn’t for everyone.
That’s something 16-year-old Zak Gilday experienced and what led him to the Routes To Work Schools programme.
The programme has seen RTW deliver services with a number of North Lanarkshire Council high schools over the past four years, targeting pupils who are heading towards their statutory leaving date and have been identified at risk of not achieving a positive destination.
RTW saw engaging and supporting young people leaving schools as a natural progression from our mainstream work.
The drive to ensure that all young people in North Lanarkshire achieve a positive destination is something RTW feel we can deliver, and in high provision, to prevent pupils slipping the net.
In 2021, entering his fourth year at Coatbridge High School, Zak was a participant in the Schools programme as he wasn’t engaging fully with traditional schooling.
He wanted to work, but, at only 15, wasn’t old enough to make the call to leave school for himself.
Shy and reserved in class, Zak’s attainment and attendance were suffering at a crucial time in his life.
While others were working towards qualifications and their next steps towards employment or further education, Zak wasn’t responding to what the regular curriculum had to offer.
That was until the Routes To Work Skills Team - led by trainer Laura Horswell - came along and gave Zak a reason to show up and put in the work.
Delivered every Friday - as part of Future Fridays - in the library at Coatbridge High, the schools programme brought Zak out of his shell as he saw a marked change in himself as he journeyed through S4.
While learning practical skills like CV building and how to conduct yourself in an interview, Zak also improved his communication, enjoyed his new-found confidence and started to respond more to life behind the school gates.
Coming to Routes To Work gave him something to look forward to at the end of every week as he worked towards his Employability Award with Laura.
The Employability Award is an SQA course designed to help S3 and S4 pupils increase their job prospects upon leaving school.
Zak got his award and has since secured himself a role in the office at logistics company A&A McNeill Transport.
Working alongside his mum, Zak is enjoying himself and reckons he couldn’t have done it without the help of Laura and Routes To Work.
Of his journey with the RTW Schools
programme, he said:
“I liked school, but it wasn’t for me. I preferred work…I’ve always preferred work.
“I would never really bother on a Friday, a lot of the time I was just walking out of the school, but Routes To Work made me come in a lot more.
“It gave me more confidence. I was learning about how to apply for jobs, what qualifications you need to get into certain jobs and Laura kind of showed me the ropes.
“I felt more at home…I didn’t really feel that way in classrooms.
“Since leaving school, I’ve joined a transport company - A&A McNeill - and I’m in the office working now with my mum, organising transport all over Britain.
“I feel a lot better about myself.”
From the school’s perspective, working with Routes To Work is just another
string to their bow when it comes to helping their pupils succeed and thrive.
Coatbridge High School Deputy Head Teacher, Cameron Mackay, said:
“Programmes like Routes To Work allow us to show
pupils the wider benefit of engaging in school.
“It’s not simply what takes place in a classroom and what the textbooks offer them, but it shows the young people that, if they work with us, we can tailor opportunities and experiences to suit their needs, help them find the career progressions and futures they're looking for.
“One of the things that we’re usually a bit concerned about when you put things like this together is: ‘Do the pupils come back again?’
“But it very quickly was apparent to us that they were very keen to come back and work with Laura again - and she was then able to, through that relationship, let them see the benefits of that programme and the award.
“Pupils who, perhaps, hadn’t been present on a Wednesday or Thursday, but we still saw them there on a Friday morning for Routes To Work.
“It provided us the opportunity to engage and have discussions with them. It brought them through the door and allowed us to work with them and re-engage them. It was really, really helpful.”
