We wouldn’t be able to fully prepare our students for the world of work without the support of the wider business community. Our partnerships with local enterprises and businesses enrich all organisations involved. Our students benefit from the expertise, insights and experiences offered, whilst the businesses involved benefit from an enhanced community reputation and being able to help shape the next generation of employees. These opportunities offer practical skills, work-readiness, and a better understanding of a career path, and being able to offer such a comprehensive and high quality careers programme raises the aspirations of all the students we work with.
Some of the organisations who currently offer placements, volunteer positions, work experience or talks to our students include:
If you are interested in joining this growing community of businesses and organisations who are making a real difference to the lives of young people, we would love to hear from you. If you are able to offer any of the following, do please get in touch.
experience
Being able to experience a particular industry, job role or environment can be pivotal in inspiring the next generation, and helping them to understand what is the correct career path for them. We are actively looking for organisations that can offer any of the following:
- Work experience: This could be a stand-alone placement for a day or a week, or an ongoing placement
- Internships: To learn a specific role or skillset, usually over the course of a few weeks
- Volunteering: Provides practical experience under supervision in a community setting
- Virtual work experience: Gained remotely through online programs or courses.
expertise
We want all of our students to develop a broad understanding of the world of work, and part of how we do this is by inviting different professionals and experts in to college to talk about their roles, their careers, and the pathways they have undertaken to achieve this. We are actively looking for organisations that can offer any of the following:
- Talks: This could be in person or online, and might focus on a particular profession, or how challenges have been overcome to achieve a career. We would be especially interested to hear from neurodivergent people with a story or expert insight to share
- Taster days: Being able to get an insight into a specific industry or place of work
- Work shadowing: An opportunity to observe professionals to see what their job is like, usually for a day or two
skills
The idea of a ‘job for life’ or singular career is obsolete, and helping our students to develop a varied skillset that is both useful and transferable is key. Qualifications matter, but so too do resilience, problem-solving and presentation skills. We are actively looking for organisations that can offer any of the following:
- Interview practice: Could you dedicate an hour or two to offering mock interview practice for our students? This could be in person or online
- CV feedback: Having concrete feedback from an industry expert on their CV or covering letter would be invaluable for many of our students
- Presentations: This could be in person or online, and might focus on the particular skills employers are looking for
