Following great achievements last year, City of Westminster College has again been working in close partnership with the Ministry of Defence in connection with their Education Outreach programme led by Andy Gillman.

Last year the students benefited from expert help with the preparation and conducting of interviews. The programme this year has been extended to include eight of Andy Gillman's colleagues who work in a wide variety of departments within the MoD that range from Wing Commander to Human Resources Officer. They will be mentoring the BTEC National Diploma in IT (Systems Support) group throughout the year.

The aim of the mentoring programme is to raise the aspirations of the students involved as well as giving them the opportunity to meet different people who work in an array of different environments within the MoD.

On the 8th November 2006, six of the eight mentors came to the College to introduce themselves to the group. Three students; Francis, Chris and Mohammed prepared testimonials for the occasion and these were presented to the mentors after which each of the mentors told the group a little about themselves both within a social and working context. The team took the opportunity to have their first group photo taken and then played a few ice-breaker games and had lunch together.

Since their initial meeting, the group have been to Trocadero for a few games of Ten Pin Bowling and on 11th December 2006 they will go to the MoD building at Whitehall for a tour and lunch. As well as being a lot of fun, this will give the students an opportunity to see their mentors at work. The exchanges of visits continue throughout the year with guest speakers also attending sessions, culminating in an end-of-year celebration in May 2007.

This partnership has already proven to have a very positive impact on the learning of our students in the past. Our students gain a fantastic sense of motivation seen in all areas of their work and their great attendance and punctuality records. We are confident this will only get better this year.

 

Monday, May 14, 2007