Work Related Learningat East Norfolk Sixth Form College

The structure of our Work Related Learning Programme:

In partnership with local business community and voluntary sector, EN generates work related

learning opportunities;

All opportunities are advertised among our students indiscriminately, using our dedicated Moodle site; the adverts follow the model of recruitment offers,

specifying the character of the opportunity (i.e. site-visit, work experience, mentoring, project work, etc.),

requirements for taking part in it and application process necessary for taking part in it;

Interested students apply for the chosen WRL

opportunity, using the forms provided, exercising their application-writing skills and constructing their support statements that need to address specific

job descriptions and person specification;

We shortlist top candidates;

Shortlisted candidates are interviewed;

The opportunity is offered to successful candidates.

EN prides itself on the innovative approach to our Work Related Programme. As we are striving to prepare our students for the reality of the professional life, our Programme mimics it,

simulating real life experiences while introducing our students to local labour market and key employment sectors.

Our WRL programme was developed in line with the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership’s strategy which identifies five high impact sectors offering the opportunity for rapid growth in jobs and productivity.

Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering

Agri-tech

Energy

ICT and Digital Creative

Life Sciences

Our partners also fall within Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s key employment sectors.

Our Partners

Mock Interviews

Industry Days

Enterprise Education

Work Experience

Mentoring

Curriculum Linked Visits

Workshops

Projects

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EN Enterprise Education introduces our students to the concept of entrepreneurship as a possible and viable

progression route in our local context, developing the knowledge, skills and values needed to set up and run a

business.

Recently over 70 students took part in:meetings with local entrepreneurs;

information sessions for students and parents;training sessions tailored to specific curriculum groups (i.e. ‘Freelancing in the Creative Industry’ or ‘Introduction to Social Enterprise for Health

& Social Care Students’).

Helen Allinson of Red Triangle EnergyStudents’ feedback included: “I find it really mind-blowing that someone as successful as Helen found time to talk to us, share her experiences and knowledge with us and act like she was just a part of our group when the discussion started.”

Ben Handford of Naked MarketingStudents’ feedback included: “Ben was a fascinating man to meet, his knowledge is amazing. He gave me an incredibly useful insight, teaching me very important skills that I will use in the years to come.”

Enterpris

e

Educatio

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Katie Jarvis of Compass DramaStudents’ feedback included: “Hearing a story of someone who has gone through the process of setting up a business based on her passion really put my learning into perspective. Katie is great and really courageous! ”

‘Making Sense of Self-Employment’ – information session run for our students and their parents in partnership with Enterprise GY

Introduction to Social Enterprise for Health & Social Care Students in partnership with Jacqui Starling,

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EN generates meaningful work experience opportunities across all local employability sectors, introducing our students to local labour market, probable employers, recruitment requirements of different industries and professional culture.

Recently over 130 students took part in:long-term work placements;

short-term work experiences;placements in the voluntary sector.

“I found my time at Itron extremely enjoyable. I have used their coding software IDev and soldered components! It was very helpful and now I know what I want to do.”

Jack

“My experience of the Louise Hamilton Centre has always been very pleasant and the staff are very professional and welcoming. The training that I have received was very informative and would help me build on my skills for the future.”

Natasha

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Perenco, working with process engineers and helping them. It has really inspired me! I have now finished my placement but they said they will welcome me back if I ever want to go there in future. It was a fantastic opportunity.”

Catherine

“I love the placement at Gardline, and being able to have the experience working with professionals in a career that I would hopefully get into .I also am appreciative of the interviews I had to have for the placement as these helped prepare and know what is expected of me in future interviews so am glad to of had the opportunity to go through the interview process.I think the placement has been successful and I have taken so much more from it than just knowledge of the subject (Geology), it’s a great working environment and they are great people over at Gardline, and have enjoyed the placement dearly.I have enjoyed analysing and interpreting geological data of the sea bed and have opinions form all different statuses at Gardline, it has expanded my knowledge and interpretation of such data.”

Megan

Work

Experience

4

EN Professional Mentoring Scheme pairs professionals from a variety of backgrounds with students who are

seeking to enhance their progression opportunities.

The Scheme introduces students to their chosen profession, offering them wide and practical insights into their future career,

supporting and helping to enable them to make informed and suitable choices. It identifies gaps in students’ knowledge, experience, skills and attributes needed to be addressed to successfully progress into the chosen profession.

Recently students were mentored in the following fields:Finance and Accounting;Medicine and Research;Energy and Engineering.

William Notcutt, Consultant at JPUH

Samantha LeFevre,ACCA MAAT

Lucy Cotton and Brad Knights, Geologists at Gardline

Mentorin

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EN ensures that students are exposed to work environments widening their knowledge of local employers, career opportunities, recruitment processes and progression routes. The site visits provide our students with an excellent opportunity to establish valuable professional connections.

Recently over 100 students visited local companies in the following sectors:Health;

Finance & AccountingEnergy & Engineering;

Publishing & Journalism.

“The mortuary awareness session at James Paget University Hospital was really informative and very interesting; it gave me a real insight into what I could possibly want to do as a carer, because it isn’t really talked about much in college or schools. Every one there was really friendly and overall it may possibly be a life changing afternoon.”

Tiffany

Curriculum

Linked Visits

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To ensure students’ understanding of current trends in labour market and consequently safeguarding their

competitiveness, EN introduced a series of sessions open to both students and their parents run in partnership with a

variety of local partners.

Recently over 200 students and parents took part in our ‘Making Sense of…’ sessions run in partnership with:

Norfolk County Council;Inspire Norfolk;Kaplan Training; Lovewell Blake;

People with Energy;EnterpriseGY

Workshops

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Generating short-term projects, EN ensures that students have the opportunities to experience, explore and develop expertise within industries that, due to their character, cannot support other forms of Work Related Learning. Creative industry is the prime example of that.

Recently EN students were involved in short-term projects within creative industry, including design, marketing and media which allowed

them to:access relevant digital technologies;

bridge the gap between their skills and practice;develop digital literacies.

Projects

Brad and Michelle working on a website and brand design for a local social initiative EmploYarmouth.

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To ensure our students have an in-depth understanding of local industries EN partners with various stakeholders

participating in regional and national initiatives offering industry days.

EN partnered with OPITO to deliver a week-long menu of site visits across Oil & Gas sector;

as a part of National Women in Engineering Day, EN organised two visits: Introduction to Chemical Engineering at Adnams Southwold and Introduction to Genetic Engineering at Norwich BioScience Institute;as a part of #notjustforboys initiative EN partnered with Women in

Energy Network to provide a day of industry visits.

Industry

Days

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PHOTO

Mock Interviews

To assist our students’ towards effectiveness in securing their futures, EN generates opportunities for them to practice their interview skills either in the process of applying for a variety of WRL forms or via specifically organised Mock Interviews Events run in partnership with local recruitment agencies.

Recently over 50 students were interviewed by local employers and/or recruiters supporting them with:

Developing interviewing strategies;Reducing anxiety and dealing with nervousness;

Creating a good first impression;Communicating skills and competencies clearly;

Answering challenging questions.

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4 students who have left EN at the end of 2013/14 and progressed to employment with one of our partners, secured in

result of WRL activities they had been involved in.

WRL in Practice

EN’s core business is teaching and learning but with a strong

focus towards providing students with what is needed to obtain

sustainable and rewarding work and become economically

independent.

East Norfolk Sixth Form CollegeChurch Lane

Gorleston-on-SeaGreat Yarmouth

NorfolkNR31 7BQ

T: 01493 662234www.eastnorfolk.ac.uk

For further information on Progression and Employability at EN contact:

Sue Cook, Director of Progression and Employabilityscook@eastnorfolk.ac.uk

Kasia Beblot, Work Related Learning Co-ordinatorkbeblot@eastnorfolk.ac.uk

EAST NORFOLKSixth Form College