Industry insight – Queen's Careers and Employability Blog

Justice Minister Naomi Long MLA leads Queen’s students to tackle youth reoffending in Northern Ireland

The Careers, Employability and Skills team at Queen’s University Belfast were delighted to welcome Justice Minister Naomi Long MLA to the launch of the new student development programme ‘Real-World Challenge: Inside the Prison System’ on Saturday 13 March 2021.

The Justice Minister addressed the first cross-disciplinary cohort of over 30 Queen’s students to complete the virtual consulting challenge, which involved expert mentorship from justice agencies in a bid to tackle the problem of youth reoffending in Northern Ireland.

Joined by NI Prisons Director, Austin Tracey; Olwen Lyner, Chief Executive of NIACRO; Fred Caufield, Executive Director of the Prison Arts Foundation and by staff and inmates from Hydebank Wood Young Offenders Centre and Prison, Ms Long advocated for a collaborative, people-centred approach to reduce reoffending, highlighting the following points:

“Rehabilitation is about building positive and constructive relationships with those in our care as we challenge and support them to change. Regardless of what they have done, they are people, just like you and me, and should be treated firmly but fairly, and with courtesy and respect.”

“There are a range of socio-economic factors which have been known to have an impact on reoffending, including poverty, social deprivation, mental health issues, substance misuse, homelessness and a lack of educational attainment and employment opportunities. These factors contribute towards the reasons why people become involved in crime in the first place and they are often exacerbated through contact with the justice system leading to a cycle of offending which causes significant harm to victims and communities. Addressing reoffending not only means tackling these issues but also creating positive connections back into supportive families and communities so that they become enablers of real change.”

“With children, offending is often a manifestation of underlying issues such as problems within the family home, disengagement from the education system, poverty and social exclusion. A new model of practice based on the child first, offender second approach, includes a focus on adverse childhood experiences, trauma-informed practice and signs of safety. Keeping children out of the justice system and out of custody in particular can be key to improving their longer-term outcomes.”

“The development and delivery of problem-solving approaches means dealing more effectively with the root causes of offending behaviour in a range of areas including both domestic abuse and substance misuse… Having a safe place to live is one of the most important factors contributing towards someone moving away from offending behaviour. So, we want to improve the support offered to these offenders upon their return to the community to ensure that they do have secure housing. Improving access to opportunities for re-education and employment is also crucial.”

“A significant number of offenders have underlying health needs. The Departments of Health and Justice are working to improve health outcomes for people in the criminal

justice system in particular collaborating with social care professionals to improve services for people in Northern Ireland Prison Service care and also via delivery of a renewed person-centred approach to supporting people at risk of suicide or self-harm…. The Probation Board are also engaged in the early scoping work around the development specifically of a Mental Health Court.”

“There is still much room for improvement at each end in terms of diverting people away from the prison system and from custodial sentences and also ensuring better rehabilitation and resettlement for those who emerge from the justice system.”

Claudine Sutherland, an Employer Engagement Officer within Careers, Employability and Skills at Queen’s University Belfast said: “We’re delighted that the Justice Minister and Prison Director could take time out of their busy schedules to motivate and inspire our students.”

Mary McLaughlin, a Careers Consultant within Queen’s Careers, Employability and Skills, added: “At Queen’s, we’re always looking to give our students access to industry insight experiences and to offer them opportunities to apply their academic knowledge to real-world settings. This is particularly important during this academic year, with lockdown restrictions narrowing the opportunities for exposure to the real working environment. Our Real-World Prison Challenge is a very welcome example of how we have been able to diversify the delivery of our Careers service and embrace digital platforms to continue to support our students and graduates with all aspects of career planning, development and decision making.”

Queen’s University Belfast will be running similar Real-World Challenges in 2021 and beyond and hope to see many more students taking part. Check our events page for details.

Life Sciences Sector Expert Q&A

Mark Gallagher, Careers and Work Placement Consultant in Queen’s School of Biological Sciences offers an insight into graduate opportunities the Life Sciences Sector offers.

What is the Life Sciences sector?

The Life Sciences in the broadest sense can encompass study and work related to all living organisms and so can have a very broad definition which can range from agriculture to zoology (A-Z). The Life Sciences sector spans a huge variety of career areas, including, but not limited to, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, environmental management, food and nutrition and scientific research. Companies may be involved in areas including research and development, drug discovery, diagnostics, analytical testing and can range from small research intensive companies, with a small number of employees, right through to large multinationals employing thousands of people.

What kinds of careers options do Life Sciences students have?

Career areas are very broad in the life sciences – and at various levels, straight from a BSc qualification to roles that may require additional levels of qualification and up to PhD. Here are a few of the main areas of employment:

Research & development – The focus of research and development (R&D) is mainly on creating products, processes or commercial applications using innovative multidisciplinary approaches. R and D takes place in Universities but also in industry within smaller medical biotech companies or parts of companies tasked with process and product improvements. To work in R and D typically you are encouraged to further your level of qualification to at least MSc if not PhD level.

Quality assurance and product Manufacturing – Quality Assurance (QA) or Quality Control (QC) involves ensuring that products are manufactured in accordance with recommended standards, and requires analysing raw materials used initially through to finished products. Companies in the sector are highly regulated so Quality is key at all stages of production with a variety of repeat analytical tests being undertaken to ensure products are safe to use. Careers can also involve monitoring environmental factors like water and air quality for contaminants which could potentially impact on process or product quality.

Science Business roles – Opportunities for regulatory affairs officers are commonplace in the sector as are roles to develop new markets and business for products, or providing expertise and consultancy to support products – roles which don’t involve lab work but the understanding you gain from a science degree is essential to carry out the role effectively. Regulatory affairs officers ensure the appropriate licensing, marketing and legal compliance of products, and work with documentation and medicine approval authorities throughout the world. Products developed as a result of research and development will need to find markets in which to be sold – and that creates opportunities for science graduates to help develop those markets, by approaching health authorities and companies to explain the features and benefits of products developed – so if you are a science graduate who is keen to use your communication and persuasion skills this could be the route for you.

Clinical trials – All medicines must undergo clinical trials before they are granted licences. Scientists are involved in setting up trials to ensure that new products are safe for use. You could be involved in a variety of roles ranging from lab-based research, through to using data analysis programmes to analyse and interpret results, or managing and monitoring trials by visiting hospital sites and liaising with nurses and physicians to ensure the trials are running appropriately.

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in building a career in this sector:

Be open to new things – at University your Careers Service will offer a host of opportunities which present an opportunity to try something new. This could be applying for periods of experience abroad, events that seek to attract students from all disciplines, career development programmes and classes that are optional to attend but specific to your degree. Get involved and set time aside outside your studies to develop skills and knowledge of options and the labour market – it’s never time wasted.

Focus on what you can control – you can’t control the unexpected such as COVID and the wider economic impacts. You can though control how you present yourself to employers and ensuring that your applications are at a high standard – giving yourself every opportunity to gain an entry level position. Use the expertise that exists in your Careers service to help with this.

Be smart and organised in your job search – you now have access to thousands of vacancies at your fingertips, but making online job applications can be tough. It’s better to make a small number of high quality applications rather than make multiple applications. Start to analyse job specifications thoroughly, look at the essential and desirable criteria for jobs of interest. For more experienced roles that grab your attention work out how you can address any skill and experience shortfalls. Speaking to people is also something I really encourage (don’t just email!) – whether that is people working in similar roles to those you are interested in, making enquiries directly to companies or attending career and networking events, these types of interactions can all help boost your confidence and also gain insights into what employers actually value in prospective employees – this in turn can help inform future job applications.

Attitude and approach are key – focus on developing your reputation for high quality work, reliability, integrity and being a good colleague to work and collaborate with. The skills and knowledge you take with you from University will be invaluable in understanding the areas you work in – but always continue to develop your skill set, the way we work is changing quickly – many employers value your attitude and willingness to learn equally as they do your knowledge and skills.

About the blogger:

I’m Mark Gallagher from Queen’s School of Biological Sciences. I work with three key groups of people – students, employers and academics. The key focus of my own role is the development of student employability from first year right through to Master’s level students. If you are a student looking to explore a career in the Life Sciences sector, don’t miss my blog featuring a Q&A of everything you have ever wanted to know about the sector.

I encourage students to develop themselves by undertaking work experience placements which form part of a degree programme, to get involved in some of the programmes that the Queen’s Careers, Employability and Skills service run throughout the year as well as encouraging involvement in extra-curricular activities that help develop confidence and transferable skills (which are key for employers we work with).

I also work with a large number of employers throughout the year, these are typically employers who are interested in recruiting placement and graduating students from the School.

We run a very successful work placement programme within the School of Biological Sciences where each year our undergraduate students undertake a one-year placement as part their degree programme. Many of our students work in the Life Science sector locally and throughout the UK joining established employers big and small, as well as gaining experience with Biopharmaceutical manufacturing companies in ROI. In a typical year, 20% of students will move outside NI to gain experience, with many travelling internationally. All placements are quality assured to meet our course learning requirements and students and employers are visited during the course of a placement to ensure everything is progressing as anticipated.

We have 8 undergraduate programmes in the School which are quite different so it’s important to ensure our labour market information is current and conveyed to students ensuring they know what their options are. Students can also book one to one appointments throughout the year, and in recent months these appointments have moved online.