The overall winner was Millie Whitta who was presented with an award at the end of year assembly by Frank Reid, managing director of at Robertson Northern.

The three pupils who have been selected will join Robertson at its Elgin-based office for an official work placement.

Kyle Scott, head teacher at Elgin Academy, said: “The Ideal Candidate programme is an integral part of the S3/4 PSE curriculum and The Moray Skills Framework. Elgin Academy’s close link with Robertson has grown and developed over the past three years and is part of the Employer/ Education partnership structure to Develop the Young Work Force.

“We are very lucky, as a school, to be able to embrace this partnership and continue to work closely with Robertson on a number of skills and career-related activities which are embedded into our curriculum, ultimately to better prepare our young people for employment or entrepreneurship.”

The Ideal Candidate programme is part of the strategic partnership between Robertson and Elgin Academy.

Since launching the initiative in 2017, Robertson has collaborated with over 30 Moray businesses who have provided over 500 S4 pupils with the opportunity to attend a mock interview as part of the programme.

The Ideal Candidate workshops prepared students for the world of work and involved a series of sessions focusing on social media, CV writing, interview techniques and presentation skills culminating in three pupils being offered a three-week work placement with the company.

Frank Reid, managing director at Robertson Northern, said: “We have a great relationship with Elgin Academy and many of our staff are former students of the school including our executive chairman, Bill Robertson.

“Our Ideal Candidate workshops are run by our community development team and aim to prepare the local schools pupils for the world of work. We equip these pupils with a range of skills which they can hopefully use to show themselves in the best light as they enter the job market and we always enjoy welcoming some of the participants to our Elgin headquarters for a work placement with our team.”