Work Experience 2023

News

Work Experience 2023

During the months of January and February 2023, students from level I and 2 courses at St. Charles Catholic Sixth Form College completed work experience in a variety of settings. These placements created great opportunities for the students to develop their employability and softer skills and start to become career ready!

Read about what some of the students who work with the Learning Support Department got up to below and how successful and rewarding their experiences were.

L1 Work Experience 2023

 

Charles Carey-Webb – L1 ICT

Charles Carey-Webb completed a week’s work placement in January 2023 at the Hyatt Regency THE CHURCHILL, a highly reputable and upmarket London hotel! Charles, who was accompanied by his learning assistant Adnan, had a fantastic time there. Shadowing key staff members, Charles was introduced to all the different functions and roles in the hotel from Human Resources, Housekeeping, Catering to the Front of house reception and back of house office administration.

Charles’ main duties were focused in the housekeeping department; there are over 400 rooms in this hotel to look after, and he worked on floors 5,7, 8 and 9 mainly. Charles got on really well with all the housekeeping staff.

While working in the office, he gained insight into the daily and weekly schedules and rotas which were completed in Excel.

Charles also had the opportunity to work in the kitchen alongside the head chef and his team. He thoroughly enjoyed this as he’d like to be a chef himself in the future.

Charles completed his work experience diary at the end of each day helping him reflect on the skills and knowledge he was acquiring daily.  Clearly Charles learnt an awful lot about the organisation and the experience has encouraged him to pursue his future studies in the area of hospitality/catering.  He also grew in confidence working in a team.

The placement staff were delighted to have had Charles there stating “the staff here just loved having Charles in our hotel. His timekeeping and enthusiasm were impeccable. He was friendly and sociable and always had a smile on his face, greeting staff and customers politely.”

Charles received two certificates from the hotel for all his contributions which were well deserved!

Abdulrahman  Kalam – L1 ICT

Abdulrahman completed his work experience placement at St. Marylebone Bridge School, his old secondary school. He really enjoyed being back in this familiar setting as he knew some of the staff and students but his schedule certainly didn’t allow for ‘too’ much socialising!

Under the keen eye of Ms. Hunter, Abdulrahman helped out with general administrative tasks putting his IT skills into practice. He also supervised activities and break times and was pleased to be allowed to shadow and support the provision’s speech and language therapist at work in the centre.  Abdulrahman stated “I enjoyed my work experience. It was nice to share my experiences of studying at St. Charles with the Year 10 and 11s at Marylebone Bridge and it’s lovely that some of them are now coming to St. Charles next year. I felt really proud of how mature and grown up I’ve become this year.” And we agree Abdulrahman, what a fantastic ambassador you have been for the College. Well done!

Jeremiah (Jerry) Mahilum – L1 ICT

Jerry’s work placement was at Kensington Library. Fabio his supervisor there told Ms. Sedaf from LS who helped arrange the placement and who visited him on work experience, that the whole team at the library were incredibly impressed with Jerry stating he was one of the most reliable and dedicated work experience students they’d ever had! He helped with updating the library’s inventory of books and dealt with reservations, book shelving and tidying including removing dead stock and dealing with the public’s enquiries and requests. Jerry said he had a rewarding work experience and “that he enjoyed feeling part of a team and being appreciated for his hard work.”  Well done Jerry!

Taniyra Brown and India Dove – L1 Business

Taniyra and India who both study L1 Business at St. Charles had a fantastic time working at BluJay’s Café in South Norwood which was cleverly secured with the support of Denice Wilson-Gayle from LS. The manager there said that Taniyra and India had been a real asset to the team. They displayed excellent interpersonal skills taking orders and serving customers. Both thoroughly enjoyed their time in this Café, well known for its visiting celebrities! They were reported to be reliable and extremely pleasant and polite and that the team would miss them! Taniyra said she gained a lot from being there, in particular she grew in confidence in communicating with unfamiliar people. India stated she now felt more confident in looking for a part-time job in a coffee shop or other retail outlet as a result of the experience. Well done Taniyra and India for a job well done!

L2 Work Experience 2023

Zaine Richmond – L2 Art

Zaine was an amazing team player at St. Charles Primary School where he got fully involved supporting the students with all subjects including Art! Zaine acted as a classroom assistant in the Reception class helping out with phonics, maths and arts and crafts etc. He also helped with playground and lunch duties as part of the team.

Zaine told us that he liked working there as everyone was friendly and welcoming. He also felt it was extremely beneficial as he would like to become a Teaching Assistant himself in the future.  He improved his skills such as working with others, creativity and leadership skills. The placement were very pleased with Zaine’s work and stated they are happy to have him back at any time because he related well to the children and staff. This is very pleasing to hear Zaine!

Navinu Thanakotuwe Gedara – L2 Art

Navinu who studies L2 Art had the unique experience of working in a local Art Gallery; JM Gallery in Portobello Road, London. Navinu greeted customers as they visited the gallery and showed them around. Navinu was given the task of choosing the “art piece of the day” and chatted to customers about the artist and history of the painting. Navinu commented that the experience helped him explore a diverse range of artists and pieces of art from around the UK and world. It also helped him understand how galleries are run and organised from chatting to the owners who live in Cornwall but run the gallery in London.

Alex Elebiola – L2 Business

Alex Elebiola turned out to be quite the business man during his placement at Portobello Business Centre (an organisation that provides advice for small businesses), in February 2023, which he and Mr. Aundrieux Sankofa from Learning support helped organise together. Alex was fully included in the work of the Centre and got really ‘stuck in’. Alex was very helpful and his duties included research, data inputting, contacting clients on the phone, updating records and attending team meetings. One of his best achievements during the week was helping the organisation prepare for a key borough event. He helped design promotional material including the main presentation which was attended by local dignitaries and business people. Alex was a real star on the evening welcoming guests and discussing his entrepereunal skills!

Alex stated that he enjoyed his time at Portobello Centre as “he learnt a lot about business in the real world.”  His supervisors said that he was a pleasure to work with; he was very hands on, keen and motivated and had a good sense of humour. Mr Andrieux who visited him commented that Alex rose to the occasion and was always immaculately presented and relished the opportunities he was given.  What a great ambassador for the College and here’s to a great future in Business!

Lomana Lualua – L2 Business

Lomana completed his work experience at Northwest Properties an estate agents in N-W London. During his time there he accompanied his supervisor to house viewings which gave him a real insight into the business. He got a flavour and understanding of the cost of renting in London and the stages involved including credit and financial checks and collecting references in on potential tenants. He got an introduction to the legal and administration side of the business. In addition he dealt with clients on the phone helping them with their enquiries and inputting data and updating records on their database. Lomona said he found it “an interesting and rewarding experience and that he was well looked after.” His supervisor, the estate agent’s manager commented that he liked Lomana’s calm and polite manner and his enthusiasm.

Kai Thomas Phillips – L2 Business

Kai had a successful work experience at Buckingham Montessori School where he worked in the office. Kai enjoyed his time there as he got the opportunity to help with multiple administration tasks including designing and mounting displays, photocopying, inputting data, typing up documents etc. Kai stated that the placement was worthwhile because as a business student, he is not yet sure what he wants to do in the future but he felt he got a broad experience of office work duties during the week; “I was kept very busy and it was interesting working in a team and real work setting. The staff were all nice and helpful and I felt my contributions were valued and appreciated.” They definitely were Kai!

Rochelle Bender – L2 Health & Social Care

Rochelle studies L2 Health & Social Care at St. Charles. For her work experience she went back to her old primary school, St. BoneyFace Primary in Tooting, London. This was very exciting for both Rochelle and the school!  Ably accompanied by Remi and Althea from Learning Support, Rochelle supported in Class A-year 1 and Class C-year 2. She assisted the children with a variety of tasks including reading and singing sessions and helped with the organisation of text books for different classes. Rochelle enjoyed working with the children and she was pleased to see them make progress. She said although strange to be back in the old primary school, (with some of the staff the same as when she was there) she felt very welcomed and the experience helped her get an insight into the real world of work and the expectations of a workplace from its staff.

Jayden Dorrant Murray – L2 ICT

Jayden completed his work experience at St. Charles helping out with a variety of administrative tasks for the LS Department. This gave him an insight into the different aspects of the LS Department’s work.

Wasim Mansour – L2 ICT

Wasim did his work experience at Kensington Library. He organised the books manually and electronically in the library and had to liaise with other local libraries to move stock between them. Wasim stated that the experience provided him with the opportunity to reflect and confirm that the library is not an area of work he wants to go into in the future. He did feel though he developed his communication skills and resilience from completing the work placement.

Hossain Ozlat – L2 ICT

Hossain made an excellent transition to his sixth form college studies and is a well-respected and popular member of the St Charles community where his contributions are much valued. We were particularly proud of Hossain’s successful work experience placement in February 2023 at the ‘Equal People’ Mencap Charity. This was an important component of his Level 2 course.

Hossain demonstrated his independence and maturity in organising a pre visit to the Charity where he met his supervisor Soniya and was able to enquire about the daily routine and the expectations of his time there. Hossain realised that this new, volunteer role might be challenging but he was up for it!

Hossain kept a detailed log of everything he achieved whilst on work placement. His duties included completing the fire safety assessment and the ICT Error on the Lenovo Tablets. He also took responsibility for the Project United Folders/Resources and Index task. Perhaps Hossain’s most rewarding task was to teach the centre’s clients how to get the best from the computers on site. He became an IT trainer in his own right!

Hossain felt that he developed several important skills and attributes whilst on work experience. Among these he identified “coordination, self-confidence, effective organisation, focus and independence.” He worked particularly on his ability to remain calm under pressure, especially when there were changes to his routine.

Soniya, the manager of ‘Equal People’ described Hossain’s contribution as ‘exemplary’. She commented on how quickly he had fitted into the workplace, how colleagues had valued his work and how impressed she was with his IT skills.

Hossain should be really proud of everything that he has achieved both during his work placement and indeed, since staring at St Charles in September. Well done Hossain!

 

Rakim Shakur – L2 ICT

L2 ICT student Rakim Shakur completed his work experience at Shepherds’ Bush Library. He designed and produced displays for the library’s front of house area and was put in charge of the overall presentation of the displays. He was happy to be kept occupied and pleased to be using his IT skills. He also helped with the maintenance of the library’s computers. He was involved in reshelving books and ensuring all were labelled correctly. Rakim stated that this placement made him focus and apply himself better and more than he thought he would! He enjoyed meeting co-workers and working alongside them and said he improved his customer service skills and gained a real insight into the real world of work, following a daily routine of duties etc. “I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this work experience and I would consider similar work in the future.”

Jamal Francis – L2 Sport

Jamal Francis who studies L2 Sport at St. Charles completed his work experience at Thomas Jones Primary School. Jamal worked alongside Mr Gourtey in charge of Sports at the school who provided Jamal with a packed programme for his time there! Jamal assisted and led a variety of coaching sessions in football, hockey and other sports including an After School Club for Year Groups 1 up to Year 5 which was quite impressive! He also assisted in the classroom.

The school were extremely complimentary about Jamal’s contributions praising his keenness and ability to carry out the sessions successfully, building on his sports knowledge and skills from his college course.  Sport is clearly a passion of Jamal’s and this was the ideal placement.

Jamal commented that the week “had been tiring but exhilarating. I even had to step in when a sports teacher was off sick and run the session with 30 kids by myself! I was nervous but just had to do it! This gave me a great buzz and improved my confidence so much.” Jack O’Sullivan who visited Jamal stated that the school which was Jamal’s old primary school, were so thrilled with Jamal and that it was great to see how grown up and resilient he’d become.  Everyone was happy to have him there and he was welcome back anytime they said.  Keep up the good work Jamal!

Kian O’Brien – L2 Sport

Kian O’Brien also studies L2 Sport at St. Charles. Kian completed his placement at St. Mary Magdalene Primary School. He was also involved in coaching the younger students and assisted in the classroom with a range of subjects.

This was Kian’s first exposure to coaching and he embraced the opportunity and demonstrated good leadership skills. The school commented to Jack O’Sullivan who visited him that Kian fitted well into the school’s culture and showed great initiative during his days there. Kian was proud to complete his placement at his old primary school of which he had fond memories of and he was delighted to showcase his sports knowledge and skills years later!