The first work orientation experience under the Revolving Around Yourself (Ray) programme initiative was held abroad recently for students in the secondary sector.

Stuart Clarke, a fifth form student at St Ignatius Boys’ Secondary School, Ħandaq, accompanied Capt. Noel Galea aboard the MV catamaran Jean De La Vallette for a number of trips from Malta to Sicily.

He performed various duties on board, including observation of navigation procedures on the bridge and cargo operations below deck.

Ray is a student-centred informal educational experience at St Ignatius College that keeps the participant at the centre of the whole educational process focused mainly on out-of-classroom activities.

The participant experiences the world of work. This is further facilitated through a bottom-up management approach, whereby students choose the genre and the entity with whom they would wish to undergo a week-long work orientation experience.

For the last three years Ray has been supported by a number of companies and individual employers that provide students with opportunities to undergo work-orientation experiences.

These included catering, hair-styling, beauty therapy, hotel maintenance, auto mechanics, marketing and sales, fitness services, IT and child care.

Ray is planning to provide work orientation opportunities in aircraft maintenance and commercial flying to students inthe upper forms at St Ignatius College.