Year 13 BTEC Science students had the opportunity to take part in a three day Hounslow Council Careers Cluster Kickstart employability programme.

Day 1 was a full day of workshops led by Spark, focusing on employability skills and career pathways. 

The focus was for students to develop knowledge about different job sectors and roles. Looking at what employability skills are the most useful in the workplace and the importance of company values. The National Physical Laboratory came into school to talk about opportunities and skills needed for roles in the organisation. A Data Architecture Manager from Suez came in to talk about his career journey and opportunities relating to Tech.

NPL came into school and with a few students did a lesson. There was a lot of information given out along with talks that helped gain an insight into different job sectors. One person gave a talk about her background and how she got into NPL. It was also quite a productive lesson as she made us do different activities, like getting into a line on a topic she spoke about but without talking [e.g. age/ number of siblings]. Overall, it was very beneficial and helped me understand that it is possible to get into different jobs even with a rough background. Joana Dias [13F]

Day 2: Industry Insight day at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences, Hammersmith Hospital Campus.

 

Students had the opportunity to tour the laboratories and find out more about the work undertaken by scientists. Employees networked with the students over a working lunch. Students asked questions and found out more about the range of roles available within the world of Science.

 

 

    

On day 2, we all visited the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences. We were first told about the health and safety, and we were told a bit about the history of the laboratory and science. We then had to dress up, split into 2 groups and were given a tour of the building, in which we saw equipment around the labs, people working, and we saw the different things that are in the laboratory. This helped us gain a better understanding of laboratory work and whether we are willing to pursue a career in that field. We had to wear lab coats before we entered any labs and our hands had to stay in our pockets, so that nothing gets contaminated. After the whole tour, we then had a networking lunch, at which we got food and had a chance to network with some of the people that work there. I had to chance to speak with Katie; she helped me get a better understanding of what I wanted to do and where I should go and what path I should follow to get to where I wanted to get too. Lastly, we got gift bags from the MRC LMS and a certificate of attendance and taking part in the day. Overall, it was a great experience for me and everyone and it really helped us gain a better understanding of the workplace. I would also recommend it to anyone else who is invited to take part to take part. Gurvinder Singh [13F]

Day 3: Mock interviews and employability skills reflexion

An Enterprise Technology Engineer came to school to talk about his career journey and his role at BP. Students learnt about industry sectors that make up BP. Students took part in mock interviews and had the opportunity to reflect on best practise.

I quite enjoyed learning about the different career paths of the different professionals, and I liked working with my group to do the mock interview, as I think it helped prepare us quite a lot. Smriti Bisht [13D]