Careers Event - Year 9 Alternative Work Experience Day
On Friday 13th June, Year 9 were treated to an inspirational Alternative Work Experience Day sponsored by Morgan Sindall.
The day started with our volunteers for the day taking part in a ‘Guess the Job’ activity. The volunteers did an amazing job speaking about their job roles without giving away the title, a tricky task! Students were given 3 options, they were given the opportunity to ask the volunteers questions, and they had to vote on which job each person does. Students became very good at this very quickly and so the volunteers tried to put them off the scent by throwing in some very ambiguous comments about their careers. The students were totally engaged, a big well done to the volunteers for keeping them guessing.
Next up, Andy Clayton introduced the project for the day. Morgan Sindall are building a new waste recycling centre in Aldridge with a re-use shop and this was the focus for the project ‘Morgan Sindall Goes Green’.
Students were tasked to join forces in groups of 4, having a Financial Manager, Design Manager, Marketing Manager and Project Manager, to produce a logo for the new shop and at least one product that could be sold there.
Before the students got creative with their ideas, they were given an insight into the employability skills that are expected in the workplace delivered by our volunteers. Students then worked in their teams to create their masterpieces. Once their ideas had been recorded on paper, our volunteers stepped in once again to give the students some top tips about presenting to an audience. Students then had to create a presentation about their project before delivering it in front of their class.
A question and answer session was held after each presentation and some thought-provoking questions were asked and well answered. The winning team from each classroom then went on to the final in the hall. Students were very brave and stood in front of the whole year group to present their ideas.
There were some amazing performances, and all the students did a brilliant job at presenting. From collecting old jewellery to redesign into bespoke pieces to making emotional support teddy bears from recycled plastic, the creativity was superb. The winning team had both fantastic content in their design but also a natural stage presence! Their idea was to collect scrap metal and old fishing nets to transform into football nets and basketball hoops, but it didn’t stop there, they also were collecting old mattresses to convert into punch bags.
The winning team won £50 Amazon vouchers, a trophy and a school trip to the Morgan Sindall site to enhance their work experience further.
The day would not have been possible without our fabulous volunteers:
- Morgan Sindall – Andy Clayton and Abi Lawley
- Lovells – Caitlyn Atkinson
- Civil Servant – Philippa Gilmour
- Shaw Education Trust – Samantha Phillips and Charlotte Boyd
- Walsall Council – Kim Evans
- Graham Construction – Pamela Green
- The Co-op – Katy Bowers
- Purmo Group – Scott Elwell
- CDW – Judith Butler
- Morrisons – Finley Reeves
A huge thankyou to Morgan Sindall for sponsoring the event and our incredible host Andy Clayton who has turned into a bit of a celebrity within the school.
