Pupils from a Pembrokeshire Primary School were able to experience a Minecraft world and learn about the hospitality and tourism industry at the same time, at an education event this month.

Careers Wales, in partnership with Visit Wales, Welsh Government and Bluestone National Park Resort have launched a new 3D Minecraft landmark feature based on Bluestone’s 500-acre resort, within the award-winning CareersCraft resource.

CareersCraft is a Minecraft world featuring Welsh landmarks, designed to inspire and motivate school children aged 8 – 13, whilst developing their careers skills and knowledge. Each landmark is linked to an Area of Learning within the Curriculum for Wales, or a particular sector.

Through exploring the landmarks virtually through the platform and taking part in challenges, young people are encouraged to consider their own skills, attributes and interests, and how these can support their career journeys. 

Bluestone near Narberth (focusing on hospitality and tourism) is a new addition to the seven landmarks already within the CareersCraft world, which includes Tenby’s focus on health and wellbeing.

To celebrate the release of the new landmark, Careers Wales hosted a launch event at Bluestone with pupils from Templeton Community Primary School.

After an introduction to the new landmark, pupils were invited to complete the Bluestone challenges, including testing the safety of the Sky Walk at the Serendome, sorting the resources in the Well Spa and finding missing swimming floats at the Blue Lagoon.

This was followed by a tailored careers session, providing an opportunity for pupils to gain an insight into the world of hospitality directly from Bluestone staff.

Oliver Furneaux, a teacher at Templeton School, said: “The children liked that the session was so interactive and that they’ve been using Minecraft, which they love anyway.

Templeton School pupils playing CareersCraft
A pupil from Templeton Primary School said: “I’ve loved that you get to go places and it looks the same as in real life. We’ve learnt about jobs that are actually real and it’s really cool how to get to experience them.” (Pic supplied)

“Having potential jobs they can do in the future built into a Minecraft world creates a really interesting and engaging way for the children to learn.

The Minister for Skills, Jack Sargeant, said: “Thanks to Careers Wales and Bluestone, this new virtual world in the CareersCraft resource will also give pupils across Wales an opportunity to find out about the breadth of valuable career options available in tourism and hospitality.” 

CareersCraft is available to all pupils in schools across the country through Minecraft Education Edition, and is accompanied by lesson plans for teachers.

The resource is also available for anyone with a games console, tablet or laptop to download and has had over seven million downloads through Minecraft Marketplace.