I was recently invited to an employers appreciation gala dinner by a local college, I was told because of the Open Days and Work Experience Weeks I had organised and run for IT, Business and Network students. Delighted at the possibility of free food and maybe, if I was lucky, a few glasses of wine I attended. All food and catering was done by the students and they did an incredible job! What I wasn't told was it was an awards dinner.... Until they called me up. It transpired the students had voted for me in the Most Commitment to Creating Opportunities award category!
I was surprised and also very moved that my work had been so appreciated. I mean I knew it meant a lot to the students, many of whom still email or text me from time to time, some I have even met for lunch and a chat with. But young people are busy with college and 'life stuff' so obviously I had more of an impact than I realised.
Open Days are a new thing. New to me, new to others I work with and new to the company, as far as I can tell. So I had to put them together from scratch.
I called upon a friend and wonderful human being, who was happy to give a presentation and take them in groups of 10 on a tour of the datacentre. From here, a person at a time, I reached out to all elements and departments on site and was met with enthusiasm and co-operation from all and I soon had a packed half day timetable for the Open Day.
It went something like this .....
9am Students arrive and sign in at Reception and collect
their Escorted Visitor Passes
9:15am Students are taken to Room *** to see the
presentation and then on a tour of Data Centre (approx 2x Hours) ******* to host tour.
11:15am Students are back for a tour of Service
Desks: Myself to host tour.
Speakers during the Tour
Engineering
Remote Desktop
Deskside Support
Service Desks
12:30 Room ***
Service Desks (Video is 4:32 in length)
Video - *****: Investing in the UK (Video is 08:07 in
length)
Best Practice ****** have approx.20 minutes to present
Talk by Learning&Development Trainer *****, approx. 20 mins to
present
Talk by the Apprenticeship Scheme Co-ordinator ****** Approx.
20 mins to present
At the end of the Open Day I took some time to discuss with the students what they hoped to get from their work experience week, what course they were doing and what areas they wanted to see and spend time in. From this I was able to put together tailored timetables for each student so they gained the most from their time.
Once again each area was happy to take some students under their wing, and with ten or more at a time the whole building seemed to buzz with life. The feedback I received from the areas they were placed as well as from the students tells me the whole scheme was a huge success, many even decided to take weekend work with us to continue their own learning and grow.
Before I knew it we had managed three groups of students through three Open Days and three weeks of work experience. The scheme was having a much greater affect than I thought possible, with the local newspaper wanting to interview me about the work.
I am very grateful for the award, but I am most proud of the students, when someone who can takes the time to create the opportunities, everyone can achieve together.
(all photographs taken of the students during work experience week)
