Career Champions is a brand new initiative within St Helens College, funded and supported by Aimhigher Greater Merseyside.  It aims to improve motivation and boost aspirations of selected students who have the potential to take their studies to a Higher Education level and their careers much further.

The project is aimed at young people on a work based learning or Further Education programme at St Helens College, who feel as though it would help them and their future plans to work with someone who can offer first hand knowledge, support and advice about their potential career. 

The first Aimhigher Award has has been awarded to an NVQ Level 3 Business Administration student - Cathryn Hegarty.  Cathryn has been involved in the Career Champions project since May 2005 and her Career Champion had the following comments to make:

"I feel that Cathryn has benefited greatly from the Career Champion project. The reason being is that up until now Cathryn believed Higher Education was for those people who had followed the traditional route into Higher Education - school to sixth form to University. Through the Career Champion project Cathryn has realised that there are a number of avenues into Higher Education, including part time and distance learning routes, and that she intends fully to pursue Higher Education whilst remaining in full time employment. Without the Career Champion project Cathryn believes she would have set her sights much lower and lived in ignorance of all the alternatives to achieve her goal of obtaining a degree qualification."
 
The award is being presented to Cathryn on the 14th December 2005 by the College Principal.