Top award for St Catherine's VS's Clara McGuinness at Career Skills Competition

Clara McGuinness from St Catherine's Vocational School, Killybegs, received a Highly Commended Award for her career study in Marketing at this year’s Career Skills Competition.

The top 29 students were honoured at a special ceremony at the Clock Tower, Department of Education, where they gathered with families, teachers, and guidance counsellors from across the country to celebrate their achievements. 

Now in its 15th year, the Career Skills Competition encourages senior cycle students who have completed a work experience placement to reflect deeply on the skills they developed and to explore a potential future career.

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To enter, students must research their chosen career, outline relevant education pathways, identify key skills and knowledge, and reflect on how the experience has influenced their aspirations.

This year, CareersPortal was proud to become an official Gaisce Challenge Partner, supporting students on their journey toward the Bronze Award. As part of the Gaisce programme, participants can complete the Career Skills Competition under the Personal Skill challenge area - gaining valuable self-development and career exploration experience in the process.

Students entered in English or Irish, either through a written submission or a Vlog.

Speaking at the event, Eimear Sinnott, MD of CareersPortal, said: “This competition continues to showcase the incredible talent, curiosity, and ambition of Ireland’s young people. By exploring real-world careers and reflecting on the skills they’ve developed, students are not only planning for their futures — they’re actively shaping them.”

Winners in each category received MacBook Air laptops, with second-place winners receiving iPads, and third-place students awarded Apple AirPods. All commended students also received prizes. In addition, four schools received €1,000 each to support their career guidance programmes.