This week, students at Wickersley Sixth Form start the Get Work Ready programme, which will see them joining different departments across Wickersley Partnership Trust as part of a placement to gain valuable work experience.
Initially eight students will be taking part in the first Get Work Ready programme, with plans for the scheme to grow and become a rolling termly initiative.
The first group of students will intern in departments across WPT’s schools and central team, including Finance, Primary PE, EYFS, and Premises.
Students’ career routes are constantly evolving, and recently we have seen a rise in students choosing work or apprenticeships after Sixth Form. We’ve introduced this programme to ensure that students are fully prepared for their next steps in the world of work. However, Get Work Ready isn’t just for ‘non-uni’ students, anyone can enrol and take part to reap the wide-ranging benefits.
The aim of the 12-15 hour internship programme is for students to:
- Know our core values and the purpose of the department
- Know their department’s key policies and procedures
- Use appropriate verbal and non-verbal communications, including written and digital
- Be able to organise themselves, prioritise workloads/activities and work to meet deadlines
- Demonstrate patience, calmness and professionalism
- Show a positive and enthusiastic attitude to work
- Demonstrate commitment and motivation to learn
- Demonstrate numeracy and IT/computer literacy
- Frequently and consistently communicate and work effectively with others
- Demonstrate personal pride in the job through appropriate dress, behaviour and positive and confident language
As part of the Get Work Ready Programme, students have been attending dedicated careers lessons in preparation for their work placements, learning everything from work contracts to organising finances. From here, they selected which area they would like to intern in from the departments that we offered. These included:
- Finance
- Clerical/Business Admin
- Reception
- Data
- IT Support
- Human Resources
- Site Management
- Teaching Assistant
- Media/Publicity
- Technician (D&T, Science)
- Sports Coaching
- Leadership
Scott Gaynor, Head of Wickersley Sixth Form said: “As Head of Wickersley Sixth Form, I’m proud to introduce our Get Work Ready work experience programme. This is an exciting opportunity for students to be immersed in a real-life professional setting and develop the skills essential for success in the world of work.”
This is the first year of the scheme and we’re looking forward to welcoming all of the placement students to our central team and schools for the next few weeks, and seeing them develop essential skills to kick-start their working lives.
