Doing a Double!

Education Business Plus has recently organised not just one but two successful Big Conversations about work experience at two different venues – one in Cheshire East and the other in Cheshire West and Chester.

Courtesy of Bentley Motor Cars Ltd and Shell Global Solutions, nearly a hundred guests, mainly students and employers came together to discuss work experience and how to make it both meaningful and inspirational.

Millions of young people embark on work experience each year but a national campaign initiated by Business in The Community called work inspiration* (www.workinspiration.com) is currently taking place involving huge numbers of employers across a variety of sectors to try and increase the relevance of the placements and to use them to truly inspire young people. The aim of each Big Conversation is to engage employers and young people in dialogue about what each party wants to achieve.

Both Shell and Bentley are already strongly supportive of the work done by STEM and Education Business Plus, in particular, the provision of work experience. Both agreed to provide a venue to hold the events and most importantly a tempting array of refreshments for participants when they arrived straight from work or school.

Key Speakers from Bentley and Shell opened proceedings with an overview of the business philosophy towards Corporate Social Responsibility. Leonie Murphy from Education Business Plus gave a short presentation highlighting the potential of the Work Inspiration Campaign to change hearts and minds when it comes to the provision of work experience. Then it was the turn of the participants, and for thirty minutes young people from schools and colleges in Ellesmere Port, Neston, Crewe and Nantwich and employers from a whole range of organisations shared their views and experiences of what works and what doesn’t work.

Brief feedback and a summary followed to bring the Big Conversations to an end. Said an employer from a Crewe based solicitors “I have gained valuable pointers in progressing our work experience placements” and a primary school Head teacher said, “It’s been very interesting to hear other peoples’ interests and experiences”. A student from St Thomas More's reflected “This has given me the chance to consider the importance of any future work experience I might do”

Said Leonie Murphy “We’ve been very pleased with both our Big Conversations and are especially grateful to Shell and Bentley for their support. We’ve gained a lot of useful feedback from the people who took part which we will share with schools and employers to try and ensure that work experience really works for everyone.”