The Cutting Edge For dedicated followers of fashion… We give you the lowdown on careers in this stylish industry. Whether it’s designing handbags, arranging window displays, managing catwalk shows or developing printed textiles, there are plenty of careers available in the fashion world. Scotland is home to several high profile fashion industry movers and shakers, and with a number of Scottish colleges and universities offering highly regarded courses you could do a lot worse than to start your fashion career here. Ours is a stylish country. We have some of the finest shoppi

Attention Seekers Ever wondered how those TV ads get made? Or how a viral ad finds its way into your inbox? Or why direct marketing falls through your letterbox? If you think a career in the marketing communication industry might interest you, read on! There are lots of misconceptions about the marketing and PR industry. One of the most common is that it’s just about being a creative – someone who can draw eye-catching pictures or think up memorable words. While these roles are important – after all, they produce the end product of the industry – they actually account for

Tour de Force A career in tourism could offer your ticket to see the world, and provide a chance for the world to see the best of Scotland too. What does it involve? ‘Waking up to see long-tailed fishing boats scattered over the azure surface of the Gulf of Thailand is pretty good’, reflects Sophie McKenneth, who worked for diving business on Ko Panang – an island off the east coast of Thailand – for two years. ‘It certainly made a pleasant change from the frigid waters of the Moray Firth, which had been the view from my window when growing up. Unsurprisingly, I rarely

All Joined Up Do you have good practical skills? An enquiring mind? Do you like working as part of a team? A Modern Apprenticeship in carpentry and joinery could give you an opportunity to learn skills for life and be paid while you train. Alastair Wylie is an award-winning young apprentice. In November 2005, he was presented with the Scottish Building Apprenticeship & Training Council’s James Birnie Award for Craft Excellence, their Apprentice of the Year Award, for his hard work, skills and enthusiasm. Now aged 20, Alastair is just coming to the end of his apprenticeship

Child's Play Enjoy minding kids, but don’t know how to turn it into a career? A course in childcare could get you to the top of the class. Nowadays, lots of parents have to work, which is one reason why the government is putting more money into pre-school education. This is creating lots more opportunities for people like you to work as childminders or in crèches, playgroups and nurseries. However, because parents want to be able to trust who’s looking after their kids, from October 2008 if you’re wanting to work in childcare you will need to be registered with an organisation calle

Put a Smile on Your Face Peering into people’s mouths and having a poke around doesn’t sound like much fun, but dentistry is a great career choice. We fill you in… It’s one of the most hated sounds in the world. But if you think you could get used to hearing the dentist’s drill everyday, and you’ve got a steady hand, an interest in caring for people and a talent for science, then dentistry could be the career for you. Two universities in Scotland offer full degrees in dentistry; the five-year courses on offer at the universities of Dundee and Glasgow both lead to a B

Designing an Interactive Future A huge number of us now rely on the internet to carry out our jobs, do our homework, catch up on the news and communicate with friends. There are millions of websites out there in cyberspace, and they all had to be designed by somebody! End of Term investigates the creative career option of web design. Web design is a dynamic industry, with plenty of opportunities for originality and creativity. If you’re imaginative and artistic with a flair for computing, then it could be a great career choice for you. The internet is always changing, and more a

Games Without Frontiers Computer games are one of Scotland’s big success stories, but what’s it like to workin the industry? Stuart Brown reports from a recent recruitment fair in downtown Dundee. It’s the middle of the day, and a line of people has formed outside Fat Sam’s nightclub in Dundee. They’re not here to boogie on down or listen to the latest stand-up, but to attend Game in Scotland – the Scottish computer games industry’s annual recruitment fare. Though the industry has been through a difficult time in recent years, Scotland’s games companies are now bac

Animal Magic It’s said that the British are a nation of animal lovers. Judging by the popularity of courses in veterinary medicine and nursing, that’s probably true. But what’s it like to train as a vet or vet nurse and could it be for you? Stewart Barr and Karen McInnes are both training to be vets. 21-year-old Stewart is studying at the University of Glasgow’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, while 19-year-old Karen is at the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. Both Stewart and Karen have wanted to be vets for many years and, before they

Good language skills can open up a world of career opportunities. If you fancy yourself as a bit of a wordsmith and love to immerse yourself in different languages, it may be worth considering a career in translation. In our global society it’s vital that everyone is able to communicate effectively, and as businesses expand across the world and communities integrate further, a person who is fluent in a foreign language can use their skills to find themselves an exciting and dynamic role in translation. But what kind of work is available and how can you get into a career as a tra