This week exam results arrived in many households across Scotland. I’d like to congratulate our own pupils in Argyll and Bute on their fantastic results this year. You can read about that on our website.
It’s a stressful time for young people and their families. It can feel like the whole of the rest of their lives depend on the right results.
Our Developing the Young Workforce team, aims to demonstrate that many people in interesting job roles across Scotland may not have taken a straight, obvious or traditional path to get there – and that there is #NoWrongPath. Their campaign aims to show young people the options that are available to them and that results are not necessarily the key to unlocking future success.
I am a passionate believer in the #NoWrongPath ethos and I’m pleased to say that most of the assumptions about the ‘right path’ in local government have disappeared.
I started out in local government as a trainee trading standards officer when most chief executives had been lawyers or accountants. It would definitely not have been seen as a route to my current job. From trading standards, I moved into waste management, again definitely not a traditional route to being Chief Exec. Both of those jobs gave me great experience and I’m very pleased to say that over the course of my career, attitudes have changed tremendously.
I now see council Chief Executives across Scotland that have come from environmental health, social work, education, economic development, corporate service, finance, law and many other backgrounds. So there is definitely #NoWrongPath.
If young people in your family have received their results, I hope they got what they wanted. If they haven’t, I hope you can reassure them that there is #NoWrongPath.
And, if you’re thinking about your own career, I hope you also feel that there is #NoWrongPath.
Have a lovely weekend.
Pippa
Pippa Milne
Chief Executive
