Over the summer our Career Ready students have been building their skills on their work placements via our Career Ready programme.
Career Ready is a national social mobility charity working with a network of educators and employers who all believe that every young person deserves the opportunity to kickstart a rewarding future. This years programme launched in December with a visit to CITI bank in London. Since then, we have had a series of masterclasses delivered by our team of employer volunteers, then over the summer the students went on their separate internship placements.
The feedback has been absolutely amazing! The students have completely embraced these opportunities and have grown in knowledge and confidence, returning to college with a new vigour for their studies.
Here are just a few snippets of their experiences:
MY INTERNSHIP WITH RCVDA, by Korben Simpson
My name is Korben Simpson. I am currently a college student at Prior Pursglove College. As part of my Career Ready Program I have completed a two week internship at RCVDA.
Throughout my time at RCVDA I have gained a wide range of skills and knowledge, benefitting me not only in future employment, but life itself. For instance on my first day I spent the morning learning what a hire agreement looks like, how to file one and the numerous uses of a printer. These may seem simple tasks but with no previous acknowledgment of hire agreements it was refreshing to learn something new. I then was thrown head first into compliance, which for some would be a nightmare, but for me was, although steep, a fascinating learning curve; it was here I became aware of the difference between an invoice and a bank statement and how to prepare such things for the accountants.
Alongside the practical skills, compliance also emphasised the importance of resilience and perseverance. This showed me that no matter how much I want to rush through something to get it done, by doing so I am guaranteed to miss something or make an error that with a little more patience I would have never encountered. Compliance also helped me improve my analysis skills, as I had to process large amounts of information and pick out key parts very quickly and accurately in order to be as efficient as possible in my work.
My next tasks revolved around DBS checks. Firstly, due to my little amount of experience with DBS, I simply did research on what it was. This included why we need it, how to keep it up to date, and where people can get one. Following this, my task was to access old DBS checks and organise them onto Google Sheets. Once again another learning experience as I have never used Sheets before. Luckily everyone was more than happy to help, so after a quick crash course, I was well on my way.
Afterwards was the Career’s Ready Presentation, my most nerve-racking project of the internship. Within the presentation I had to talk about what I was hoping to learn from my experience with RCVDA, what I had learned from RCVDA, and the projects that I had completed within my time with them, I had five minutes to do so. I will admit I did go over my timing, but to summarise all I had learned in the time would of been impossible. By doing this I further increased my confidence in communication, and my ability to present a presentation as a whole
Overall my time with RCVDA was an enlightening experience of how little I really know about the real world, due to being in full time education my entire life, I have never needed to know the things that I have learned on my internship. However I am exceptionally grateful to both RCVDA and Career Ready for giving me the opportunity to come and experience the world of work. My two weeks here have been much more rewarding than I could of imagined not only expanding my knowledge on the areas I do know, but also opening my eyes on the areas I don’t know and giving me the foundations I require to go on and build a wealth of knowledge in those areas, helping me prepare for the world outside of education.
I would like to end by saying a great big thank you to everyone at RCVDA for giving me this experience, and rekindling my love for our area. You were such a warm and welcoming group of people, and an absolute pleasure to work with.
Thank you to RCVDA for allowing us to share RCVDA website
The voluntary sector employs a workforce of just under a million people across the UK so having the support of Bupa Foundation UK to enable charities to take on Career Ready students from Prior Pursglove College and Stockton Sixth Form is vital for raising the profile of the sector. It encourages our students to find out more about the great work happening in the local area and helps build their skills for career success.
One of those charities is The Hope Foundation Middlesbrough doing great work across Tees Valley and giving the students an experience they’ll never forget. All have built valuable team working skills, learnt to adapt to their environment, networked at events and also grown in confidence after their placements. Thank you Sue Kearney and to our mentors Philip Campbell Matson and Carole Bond MCIPD.
Lily & Ali spent their internship with Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council. Supervisor Mike Oyston said “both students have been a pleasure to have with us in the office. They have been punctual, willing to learn, polite, intelligent and confident. They have embraced every task set for them and have undertaken it well, akin to what we might expect from an actual employee”
HSBC mentor Suzanne was able to witness first hand the power of an internship and said “Amazing to attend Lily’s presentation today, an increase in confidence & a wealth of skills learnt in such a short time – very proud mentor!”.
Rughiya spent her internship in the Finance Department at Steel Benders UK Ltd. She said “the internship has made my aspirations to work after college even higher, whether it’s through a degree apprenticeship or directly into work. I enjoyed the professional hands on environment while learning every day and the valuable guidance given from my employer.”
Huge thanks to Tania Cooper MBE and the team at SBUK
Libby Spent her intership with Aircon Group building up skills including marketing, engineering knowledge, use of databases, excel, chat gpt and much more. Not only has she grown in confidence but the work will continue to benefit the business which is a real legacy. Well done and thank you Erica Johnson-Trumper and Ross Cousin for the opportunity and support.
A huge thank you to all our employers for supporting Prior Pursglove College and Stockton Sixth Form College with their internships. We really value your support, along with that of all our volunteers, you help make this programme a truly remarkable experience.