The Career Ready programme links high school students with industry mentors for a two-year transformation including one-on-one mentoring, masterclasses and a four-week paid internship to help the youths as they transition from education to the workplace.

Both pupils from the 2025/2026 cohort worked on various tasks in the housing services department gaining valuable insight into work the Association does out with the traditional view of ‘collecting rents and organising repairs’.

Their experience culminated in a hands-on summer internship, where they worked on real business projects including helping update health and safety information for vulnerable residents at Radnor Park, which is shared with partnership agencies such as Scottish Fire & Rescue Service, and is valuable during emergencies. They also had a tour of the varied stock the Association has, helped progress long standing projects relating to communal storage, learned about void house processes and the full allocation process from receiving an application to someone signing up for a tenancy.

The young people showed amazing enthusiasm throughout and were pleasantly surprised at the variety of support the Association provides through their Tenancy Sustainment Officer and activities on offer at their community centre, Centre81.

Jack Devlin, housing services manager, said: “Mentoring two young people through the Career Ready programme has been an incredibly rewarding experience. At the end of their internship they gave presentations to staff and Career Ready about their time with us.

“Watching them grow from quiet students into confident, work-ready young adults is a testament to the power of mentorship. I’ve no doubt it’ll benefit them in their college courses. And hopefully they will consider housing as a career in the future!” A pizza lunch with the full staff team followed to thank them for their contribution.”

Career Ready Scotland works with employers and schools across the country to boost social mobility and give young people from diverse backgrounds a fair shot at career success.