School work experience: When I grow up…
What do you want to be when you grow up? It’s such a universal question. It’s a question we’re always asking children. We ask five-year-olds this for their hilarious and cute responses.
An ice-cream van driver? How adorable! An astronaut? So ambitious! However, as children grow into teenagers, and teenagers into young adults, “what do you want to be?” changes into “what are you going to be?” We demand to know what the young adults of tomorrow are going to be before they even have the time to figure that out for themselves.
At age sixteen, schools often urge their students to take part in a week’s work experience. It’s a chance for students to get a taste of what their desired career could be like. You’d be surprised to hear that schools and colleges don’t provide the support you’d expect. Thousands of sixteen-year-olds across the country will be told to do work experience and then…that’s it. All those students are merely dropped in the deep end of the working world. Job-searching may seem simple enough to those of us who have been doing it for years, but for a young adult beginning their venture into the world of employment, it can be an incredibly daunting task.
We wanted to give back to local youngsters and give them a helping hand towards defining their career goals. In line with this goal, we’ll be taking on Lucy on a work experience placement during the summer. Before she starts, we thought we’d get some insight into her background ahead of the experience:
Tell us a bit about yourself, Lucy.
I’m sixteen and currently in sixth form studying psychology, history, and maths. Out of all my subjects, I’d say that maths is my favourite. It’s something I’ve always enjoyed, and I’m good at it too. I’ve been really drawn to it at sixth form because the subject is so much wider than I thought it would be. Obviously, there’s the pure maths element, but we look at statistics and mechanics too which I find fascinating. I can definitely see maths being a big part of my future.
I love it because it comes so naturally to me. There’s something about it that just clicks in my head, and it feels natural; effortless really.
That’s amazing, so few people your age know what they get into. How are you approaching taking maths to the next level?
I’ve been looking at all the available uni courses, weighing up the options between taking further maths alone or studying an accountancy degree. I’ve picked six universities that I love the sound of. I’m hoping I’ll get into one of them as long as I get the qualifying grades. I’m looking forward to my work experience with Big Hand as it will give me a real taste of what to expect.
How did you hear about Big Hand?
Through my mum. She works with Mick’s wife, and so they arranged my work experience that way.
That’s helpful. How else would you have found your work experience if not through your mum?
I would have had to arrange it on my own. Our sixth form tutors told us it was something we had to arrange but then didn’t give us any other input. I haven’t had much support from them actually. They’ve just taken the details for security and permission to leave school for a week. If it wasn’t for mum’s contact, I would have had to research and ring different accountancy firms. I feel quite lucky. If I had to go and visit the firms in person or cold call them, I would have found it very intimidating.
What are you expecting from your work experience?
I’ve got a bit of background from Mick but not I’m not too sure what to expect day-to-day at this stage. It’s all still a bit of a mystery to me! I am excited though! I’ll get nervous nearer to the time – after all, it’s a new experience – and it’ll be my first time going off in the bigger world on my own. I am keen to get started and see what it’s all about. Plus math is something I love; to have the opportunity to see if this is what I want to pursue in the future is amazing.
How are your friends finding getting ready for their work experience?
Some of my friends know what they want, others don’t have a clue. Mostly they keep changing their minds and get confused. Only a handful are clear on what they want. One of my friends has always wanted to be a nurse, and so she’s got a placement with the NHS through her mum; also a nurse. The others don’t have a clue and haven’t set work experience up yet. Only a few more weeks to go so I’m curious to see what they go for.
We’re a big fan of making a positive change to others; that belief isn’t confined to business owners. We think it’s fabulous that Lucy already has her mind set on her future. At Big Hand, we encourage other local businesses to give young people the opportunity to take a proactive approach to their future through work experience. Lucy’s adventure will begin mid-July. Stayed tuned here for an update on how she gets on. If you want to talk to us, get in touch on 0161 327 2911.
