Students from the Faculty of Arts, Business, Leisure and A-levels were last week selected to take part in a work experience programme, with employers offering a preparation workshop. Business students received a talk from The Brokerage Citylink, Leisure, Public Services and Sports students met with several employers including Hilton Hotel Group, David Lloyd Group and the RAF while Creative Arts students heard from a Senior Producer at Hugo & Cat, the Editor in Chief at Amor Magazine and a freelance Photographer and Videographer.

Anna Cook, Deputy Director of Faculty for Arts, Business, Leisure and A-levels said, “We decided to run a pilot work experience scheme as all 16-18 year olds are expected to gain a work placement for at least 6 days. We had three main sectors, Leisure and Public Services, Creative Arts and Business and we’re working with Capita to try and gain some placements - this employment session is the first step towards doing that and then we will have a follow up session on June 4th where the students will be able to further understand and learn the skills that employers look for."

"Mark Adams from the RAF is here to talk to some of the Public Services and Sports students and the RAF have offered placements for our students at an RAF base which will be an excellent opportunity for them," Anna added. "Keith Mitchell, a Centre Manager from David Lloyd, used activities that they have in their recruitment process, giving the students the opportunity to gain an insight into the type of activity they may be asked to complete as part of an interview. They helped the students with their interview technique and also looked at the CVs that the students had written. The variety of speakers meant that the students were really engaged and I think they were able to take a lot out of the day.”