Luke on hearing he would be joining Cullen Scholefield for a week
If you know Maureen well, you will know that she is very firm in her belief of the ‘bright young thing.’ There are so many young people these days who are out of work and are stuck in the experience limbo. You need experience to get the job but you need a job to get experience. For a young person who is job hunting, the word experience has become the bane of their existence. They desperately need it, but no one is willing to give them a chance for them to get it.
When I was approaching my final weeks of university and graduation, I realised eventual unemployment was looming ever closer. In my panic, I sought out Maureen for some work experience. It seems mad to think that two weeks work experience is more important than three years of dedicated (mostly) studying, but in a world churning out graduates by the hundreds, work experience is the differentiating factor.
I was one of the lucky ones. My two weeks with Cullen Scholefield led to a summer placement which then led to a full time job which gave me the opportunity to grow and develop in a flexible working environment. Without those two weeks of work experience, I wouldn’t be where I am now and I wouldn’t have had the confidence to pursue my chosen career path.
As I said though, I was one of the lucky ones. The majority of organisations out there are not willing to take a chance on a bright young thing. The International Business Times reported that organisations feel that young people aren’t ‘adequately prepared for the workplace’ and as a result young people in the UK are the most affected by unemployment. The British Chambers of Commerce are dedicated to fixing this problem and aims to introduce universal work experience in all secondary schools.
This week at Cullen Scholefield, we have been joined by Luke Smith from Ardingly College who decided to spend his half term getting some valuable work experience in preparation for his university applications. We made an effort to recognise Luke’s interests and tried to provide the experience that will benefit him the most. Whilst working on writing the sales processes, Luke expressed an interest in helping us write them up. This was valuable to him and to us, as we got to benefit from his existing knowledge of flow charts. Also in true Cullen Scholefield fashion, we’ve had him write a little piece for our blog on his work experience…
Eleanor and Laurane, two more successful Cullen Scholefield work experience candidates
“To be offered the opportunity to gain a week’s work experience at Cullen Scholefield, adding on to the experience I gained at ‘Edwards High Vacuum’ in 2013, is something that will be incredibly valuable to me when applying to university and also finding a job once I’ve graduated. Working in an office environment has allowed me to improve my skills that will become very useful in later life and are appealing to both employers and universities. Being able to work on and understand the processes involved in the day to day business at Cullen Scholefield has been very enjoyable and interesting. Inevitably in any business there will be a lot of scanning to do! Although it was at some points a tad repetitive, I feel I’ve gained patience with technology and I can now say I am now fully qualified to scan any document needed!”
We like to look at work experience as a give and take situation. We will work hard to make sure someone gets the experience they need and we find that they will work hard to repay us the favour. Considering it is just one week that will make a difference to that person’s future career, it is surprising that people don’t do it more often!