Opening the doors
The Specialist Strive Programme connects students, educators and careers advisers with real working environments and the people inside them.
Through factory visits, school presentations, interview skills workshops, work experience and awards sponsorship, Strive gives young people practical insight into the opportunities available across the business.
A recent visit from the St Pius X College 5th Year Technology class showed that approach in action.
Students explored Marketing, Sales and Estimating, Health and Safety, Procurement and Design before moving onto the factory floor to see veneering in production and meet Specialist’s first-year apprentices.
The visit revealed the full breadth of the business.
Modern fit-out and manufacturing depend on far more than what happens in the workshop. Every project draws on technical, creative, commercial and operational expertise – and there are career routes across them all.
Visible pathways
The St Pius students also heard from former pupils who have built careers with Specialist.
Caoimhin Sheridan discussed his current apprenticeship project. Jack Costello shared his experience of working on a high-end commercial project. Logistics Manager Francis Higgins spoke about the career he has developed since leaving school.
Those conversations matter.
The students were not hearing an abstract presentation about where a career might lead. They were meeting people who had sat in the same classrooms, made the same early decisions and found their own routes into the industry.
That is what Strive is designed to provide: real workplaces, visible pathways and honest conversations about what comes next.
ST PIUS X COLLEGE VISIT
A shared commitment
Strive is not simply a programme Specialist delivers to schools. It is a partnership with education.
Teachers and careers advisers understand their students, their abilities and the support they need. Specialist can provide current industry knowledge, workplace access and direct insight into the skills employers value.
Bringing those perspectives together helps young people make better-informed decisions. It also helps Specialist understand how education is changing, where students need greater support and how businesses can engage with them more meaningfully.
Because closing the gap between education and employment cannot be left to schools – or employers – working alone.
It requires both.
From first encounter to lasting career
Strive forms part of Specialist’s wider approach to developing people and protecting the skills its work depends upon.
The Specialist Academy provides structured apprenticeship routes combining formal learning with practical workplace experience. Established in 2014, the Academy grew from a much longer tradition: Specialist has delivered joinery apprenticeships since the business began in 1988.
That commitment continues through Thrive, Specialist’s refreshed apprenticeship programme. Thrive combines bespoke, role-specific training with the practical life skills apprentices need to succeed in their careers and everyday working lives.
Together, the three strands create a clear journey:
Strive creates awareness.
The Academy creates opportunity.
Thrive develops capability.
A student visiting the factory today could become an apprentice, designer, craftsperson, estimator, project manager or business leader tomorrow.
Specialist’s own people provide the evidence that those careers can start locally and grow much further.
What Strive includes
The programme brings Specialist and its education partners together through:
- Factory visits
- In-school presentations
- Interview skills workshops for post-primary students
- Work experience opportunities
- School and student awards sponsorship
Individual visits and activities will continue to be shared as Strive develops, creating a visible record of the schools involved, the experiences delivered and the young people reached.
Building what comes next
Specialist believes skills are built, not bought.
That means investing long before a vacancy needs to be filled. It means making industry more visible, giving young people meaningful encounters with work and helping them recognise the value of their own abilities.
It also means taking responsibility for the future workforce instead of waiting for it to arrive fully formed.
Strive puts that belief into action.
By opening our doors and working more closely with educators, we can help young people understand what is possible – and begin building the knowledge, skills and confidence our industry will depend on next.
If your school or organisation would like to become a Strive education partner, contact the Specialist team to begin the conversation.
