West Cumbrian students got a careers boost from one of the area's biggest employers on Wednesday.

Lakes College, at Lillyhall, held a work ready day with Sellafield, giving students the opportunity to chat informally with STEM ambassadors from Sellafield about qualifications and tips and tricks for their chosen career.

There were also workshops on CV writing and interview techniques and a quirky team-building activity where groups of students each had to design a protective suit for an egg to prevent it from breaking when dropped.

The youngsters lapped up the opportunity to tap into expert knowledge, listening intently to every word of advice and asking thought provoking questions about every lesson.

Luke Chambers, 16, of Dearham, said: "I've been asking about how to get into Sellafield and the best way to do that.

"It's made me think about doing work experience in other places to get skills and references to increase my chances of finding work.

"Planning out a path I've found helpful."

Bradley Lake, 17, of Cockermouth, said: "I've been picking up bits about my CV and they've been talking about questions to ask the interviewer.

"It's made me more confident in asking questions about jobs and I want to own my garage eventually so working on my CV should help me with getting work experience to work towards that."

Jonathan Scott, 18, of Maryport, said: "I found it helpful to stop being so nervous when speaking to people, which should help when it comes to interviews.

"It's useful to find out what's out there and how you can make the most of it."

Andrea Murray, engineering work placement co-ordinator at Lakes College and organiser of the event, said it was an amazing opportunity for the youngsters.

She added: "It's all to do with employability skills, improving communication and problem-solving.

"Hopefully this will give them a boost and make them realise how important it is to put a lot of effort into their career because you get out what you put in.

"With how many people are going for these jobs, any advantage can be crucial."

Pauline Farrell, education and community programmes officer at Sellafield, added: "You've got ambassadors from different backgrounds and it's more about the softer skills that employers are after and trying to get across that they are equally important.

"If you have got something else on your CV it makes you stand out.

"If we even make a difference to one person today then it has been worth it.

"We do have skill shortages so the more we can help people to get themselves into the best position to be employed is good.

"There are opportunities out there for young people so it's just getting them ready."