Preparing students for world of work
A COVENTRY school has joined together with local employers to develop pupils’ interview techniques and prepare them for the world of work.
Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, part of The Romero Catholic Academy, held an employability skills day for its Year 11 pupils at the Techno Centre, in Coventry.
Panels made up of local employers, school staff, Romero employees and sixth form students interviewed a total of 230 pupils to prepare them for real life scenarios and help them recognise what skills make them employable.
Employers, including Jaguar Land Rover, National Grid, police personnel and business executives, led the panels.
Pupils were required to give a presentation and then answer interview questions before receiving feedback on their strengths and development needs.
Richard Kingshott, from Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, said: “We hold flexible learning days across the whole school and for Year 11 our focus has been on employability skills.
“We want to help pupils recognise their skills and how these relate to employment as well as build their confidence.
“Our employability skills day gave those taking part the opportunity to experience an interview situation and receive feedback on both their strengths and development needs. The process will help them when they go on to experience real life interviews.
“Local businesses have been very supportive of the event and the employers on the panels have been able to provide pupils with a wealth of knowledge.
“It also provided an opportunity to discuss apprenticeships and the types of positions available at different businesses.
“We’ve received some excellent feedback from our pupils who found it a very interesting and useful experience.”