Choosing what to do in your future can feel easier if you know what is available and have personal experience of the workplace. The range of opportunities offered to our Year 10 students were broad and interesting; they tested out career ideas and were given the chance to shine in new environments. Whatever job our students tried, they will have had the valuable opportunity to learn more about themselves and begin to build a network of their own.
A key aspect of their work experience was the chance to develop and put into practice soft skills that employers look for in all environments, and judging from the feedback the students did just that! There were many reports of great communication skills, team working, ability to problem solve and a willingness to learn new things, to name a few.
The benefits of work experience for students are extensively covered by the Careers & Enterprise Company, with 80% of employers saying that they would give preference to a student with work experience. Experiences of work are also reported to give young people a competitive advantage in their applications for universities, internships, and other options following school. Indisputably, work experience increases confidence, which is essential to our students as they progress in their school careers.
Despite this the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) reports there has been a significant decline in the number of students benefitting from workplace experiences. With the help of fantastic employers, parents, and guardians, we have been able to continue to offer this as part of the programme and thank everyone for their commitment and support in a challenging post-covid employment world.
It is widely appreciated that ‘greater flexibility, self-reliance, enterprise and career management skills will be demanded of young people entering the adult world’ (CDI). The experience from this Year 10 cohort certainly gave us first hand insight into how the experience can help our young people develop and grow.
They all did a fantastic job and we are so proud of what they have achieved. Take a look at what a few of our students got up to during Work Experience Week:
Fleur of England Placement
Ljiljana and Ione were very lucky to find a placement with Fleur of England, in Bristol. They were given creative and business-focused tasks from creating a product moodboard to undertaking competitor analysis to inform product development. Both Lilyana and Ione were really amazed by the different textiles and fabrics that Fleur uses, and learnt a lot about the work that goes into creating a successful fashion brand. We are looking forward to seeing the designs they came up with on their placement.
Thai Thai Takeaway Placement
Chi has a passion for food and secured a work placement in Bath at Thai Thai Takeaway. During the work placement visit, he revealed he had ‘learnt so much’ about the kitchen and preparing food commercially. The takeaway is delicious; the owners were really positive about Chi’s development and potential. Well done Chi!
Clayton & Company Placement
Gabby secured her work placement at Clayton and Company, an interior design business in Paulton. She created moodboards for a new show home, created a 3D home design, and made a cushion! We hear she had a fantastic week and really impressed her manager with her initiative. Check out these photos of some of the work Gabby completed during her experience:
Woodborough Inn Placement
Claudia was determined to make the most of work experience week and secured a place at the Woodborough Inn.
Interviewed by Jan, also on work experience with the Careers team at Sidcot, he found that she enjoyed the bubbly, social nature of the service industry; "She’s achieving everything she wanted to achieve with this placement, which is great to see. She's really enjoying the atmosphere here, working with her colleagues, and learning some really useful life skills. The employers have found her to be polite, keen, and happy to do all the tasks, which were completed efficiently. She’s also smiling all the time which is really appreciated."
Yeofit Placement
Luna completed her work experience with Yeofit. Lynne Joyner gave her fantastic feedback; "Luna is fantastic! She's confident and happy to work on her own initiative to help, as well as pro-active in talking to customers". Luna gained an insight into all the complicated aspects of running a business, beyond delivering the classes.
Cadbury Alpaca Emporium Placement
Cadbury Alpaca’s offered a wonderful placement for student Natasha, who was keen to get involved in all areas. The private working alpaca farm produces various products from alpaca fibre such as baby booties, hats, scarves, cushions and more. You can also visit their alpacas which is a rewarding experience. The alpacas needed lots of care and attention, which Natasha was keen to assist with, and the week was overall very informative with Natasha tasked in helping with all aspects of the farm!
Sidcot School Placements
At Sidcot, we had several students gaining work experience in our business departments.
Nikita & Hugo made a splash in marketing! They both started with a competitor analysis to develop their knowledge of the industry and Sidcot's position within it, before being tasked with capturing and creating lots of content! From photography of big events happening at the end of term, to filming testimonials and even writing blogs for the website, they did a fantastic job, were very enthusiastic, and walked away with a deeper understanding of all that is involved in marketing.
Stass & Yuni worked in International Recruitment, with the aim of learning more about all that's involved in recruiting students from overseas. They developed cost and time management skills as they researched flights to international fairs, and got creative when producing mini brochures, tailoring each to the different international markets. It was an eye-opening experience that showed the students how varied many job roles can be!
Accountancy Placement
Patrick did his work experience at a local accountant’s firm. Here he is learning about one of the many aspects of working in a business. He particularly enjoyed working on a project for a client and the variety of clients that the firm works for.
Thank you to the following companies who generously accepted our students for a week of work experience, teaching them valuable skills that they will take forward into their future education and careers:
Kwok Fung Interior Decoration Co. Ltd., Weston Winter Gardens, East Brent Academy, Rope Access Contractors Ltd., We Love You Media Ltd., Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, The Content Emporium, The Pet Studio, Arc Racing & Leisure Group, Central Park Auto Repairs & Body Shop, Radonova Scientific Ltd, Bridgewater College, Fashion Department, Thai Thai Takeaway Restaurant, Beauty Oasis Spa, The Woodborough Inn, Phillips Planning Services, Future Proof Photography Ltd, Little Learners (St Nic's Pre School), Frater Recycling, Schmidmayer Bräu, Little Kickers, Bristol Bears Community Foundation, Roderick Thomas Estate Agents & Chartered Surveryors, John Laurence Carpentry, CJH Land, Jane Clayton, AMT Marketing Ltd., Technology Square Solution Co. Ltd., Riverbourne Community Farm CIC, Revoco Ltd., Sidcot School - Marketing, International Relations & Equestrian Centre, St. Andrew's Church of England Junior School, Fleur of England, Winscombe Primary school, Flourish Direct Marketing, Rainbow Montessori, J & C Services Limited, Sidcot Junior School, St Anne's Primary, St Michael's Manor, Ujima Radio Bristol, Equine Dental Services, Axbridge First School Academy, Boomtown Fair, BDW Trading Ltd., Hudson Plumbing & Heating Services Ltd., Salon Concepts Ltd., Yeofit, Bristol Honda, Qss IT Solutions, CuppaCoffee, Fabkids Childcare, Cat's Protection League, LED Architects, Alpaca Emporium, Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team, Design by Creative, Grünecker - Patent Attorneys, Redland Park Dental Surgery, Highcroft Vets, North Somerset Council , Gail Bryson, Maximum FX, Brooking Ruse & Co Ltd, Origin Film & TV, Aptar, Dulhorn Farm Holiday Park, Cowan House, LDS Sports Therapist, Slade Barn Holiday Lets, Pupz'n'Pawz , The Swan Hotel, Churchill Primary School, Pretty Sitting Upholstery & Interiors, Impact Solutions, Mobile Pie Ltd, The Stable, Neighbourhood Care, Event Collection.