Virtual Employer Engagement

During this unprecedented time, in order to ensure our students still have the opportunity to find out about the world of work and speak to employers, we have been able to set up virtual employer engagement opportunities and on-line careers talks.

Several students have made the most of these opportunities and below is feedback we received from Kavya Mehta in Year 10 and his mother:

WEBINAR EXPERIENCE – 10.6.20

Report of my experience – Kavya Mehta Year 10

INTRODUCTION – Mrs McIldowie recently offered year 10, 11 and 12 students an opportunity to talk to highly qualified engineers through a webinar. When I found out about the webinar for those who really like engineering and skills associated with it, I realised that this was an opportunity for me to ask a few questions to the engineers about their life and their work. This is because in the future, I would like to become an astronaut and an astrophysicist; therefore, there is a lot of engineering involved if you are an astronaut. I quickly signed up as there were only 5 spaces available. 

PRIOR TO THE MEETING – The meeting was to start at 2 o’clock but because it was my first time I decided to join at 1:50, in case there were network delays or my laptop had a low battery or if I ended up in the wrong meeting. However, much to my surprise, it was really quick to join. I was provided with a link which helped me download the relevant data and I was in the call by 1:52. I had to wait for a few minutes before the organiser joined and started the meeting.

THE MEETING – The organiser, Gareth Dace was the first person we saw before the engineers (Matthew Dickenson and Jon Millar) joined us. Gareth explained how to use the webinar and how we were able to ask questions. He also told us that we, the students, will be on mute and so no one would be able to see or hear us. During the call, I asked several questions such as : ‘Which type of engineer does more risky work and which earns more money?’ ; ‘Which type of engineering will help me if I want to build a career as an astronaut?’ and several more. Thankfully, they took time to explain and answer the questions in great detail; I was certainly satisfied with their replies. As we progressed, the engineers described their childhood and what inspired them to choose the path they are on today. They informed us of the subjects they took for GCSEs and A-levels. There was one question asked by a fellow listener whose answer really surprised me. How long does it take to plan a project before the building starts? And the engineers said that before the first shovel hits the ground, it takes roughly 1-3 years of planning by the engineers and almost 5 years by the organization! During the talk, we were asked questions at regular intervals through our computer screens and we had to answer them by clicking on one of the multiple choice options. 

CONCLUSION – The talk lasted for 50 minutes and towards the end, they provided us with the websites where this talk would be published and a few others where we could do courses and join other webinars related to engineering, science and several other subjects. All in all, it was a great experience and it really helped me determine the path I would like to take (astrophysics) and the amount of effort I have to apply in order to fulfil my dreams.

Feedback from Mrs Mehta

“Today Kavya joined an engineering conference on line.  I was with him and also watched it.  It was really helpful to Kavya as he was able to ask questions.  I am very pleased that you arranged this.  Kavya is very happy he joined as he got some knowledge about different fields. I am so grateful to you and many thanks for all your support.”

Could all students from Year 9 and above check their emails weekly for details of future opportunities.

If anyone has any questions please contact Mrs McIldowie or Mrs Biggerstaff.

Year 10 Career Guidance Interviews

During this unprecedented time are currently unable to offer face-to-face career guidance interviews to Year 10 students in school. 

However, our amazing YC Herts Personal Advisor Heidi Snowdon, will be contacting students over the next six months.

In order to ensure that no-one misses out, we will be starting this process next week with telephone interviews.  If any parent wishes their child to have a telephone interview before September, please let us know.

If your child would prefer to wait for a face-to-face interview with Heidi, we will of course be happy to arrange this once we have a clearer picture in September

Here is the link to the HOP Live Virtual Encounters page where all previous webinars can be found: https://www.hopinto.co.uk/explore-careers/webinars/virtual-employer-encounters/