LESS than a fortnight after it hosted Newcastle United’s vital victory over West Ham United St James’ Park was the venue for another nerve jangling day.

More than 400 students aged between 14 and 18 came to the famous venue to be interviewed by 50 business people from 25 North-East firms.

The mock interviews were the culmination of this year’s Building My Skills programme which has been delivered across the region by Durham-based construction company Esh Group in conjunction with business partners.

The students earned their opportunity to be interviewed by completing the Building My Skills programme which has run through the academic year to help boost their employability.

Darush Dodds, of Esh Group, said: “Every student who has the opportunity of a ‘really-real’ interview has worked very hard to earn their place; they’ve shown complete commitment to the programme through 100 per cent completion of their attendance portfolio, full attendance and excellent attitude. These are the qualities which employers want and that is why Building My Skills is proving so valuable as teachers prepare young people for the world of work.”

Among the schools taking part were The Education Village, Darlington; Bishopsgarth School, Stockton and Huntcliff School, Saltburn.

Marc Millar, of Ailantus Hotels which owns the Mercure George Washington Hotel at Washington, the Quality Hotel at Boldon and the Holiday Inn at Gosforth Park, said: “For us becoming involved with Building My Skills is both an opportunity to help young people gain an insight into what employers are looking for and, most importantly, support teachers in helping them gain a good understanding of the job market and different business sectors as they work to prepare young people for their careers.”

Building My Skills (BMS) is free to the schools, businesses and local authorities taking part and provides years 9, 10 and 11 and 6th Form students with a rounded introduction to the world of work through regular engagement with the business world.

The year-long employability skills programme was originally formed in partnership with Esh Group’s colleagues at the North-East offices of Ryder Architecture, Turner Townsend and Arup. It now includes 69 local, national and global businesses from 15 different business sectors across the UK.

Mr Dodds continued: “For many of these students these interviews are the first opportunity they’ve had to talk about themselves and their hopes and ambitions to a total stranger.”

In 2014 Building My Skills was given the Going the Extra Mile award by CECA (Civil Engineering Contractors Association) North East and was accredited with the National Big Tick for Education from Business in the Community.