Primary case study
Bolton Sixth Form College
Bolton Sixth Form College, Greater Manchester, provides high quality further education for 16-19 year old students where learning mentor and pastoral care schemes are at the heart of learning.
The combination of high quality teaching and support has resulted in students achieving excellent results and the college being recognised nationally in the top 5%.
The College’s Careers Advisor, Paul Fenner, wanted to build stronger links with the business community to help give his students a better understanding of the world of work. He also needed a platform that would easily integrate with the existing IT hardware and minimise disruption to the timetable. Paul opted to use Learn Live’s online portal to allow students to communicate with businesses.
The session:
Linking live with construction giant Balfour Beatty at its HQ in Cheshire, Year 13 students had the opportunity to talk to Kevin Hutchinson, Community Engagement Manager and Ellie Metcalf, Administrator about business and admin roles within the organisation.
The live session included a virtual tour of Balfour Beatty’s offices in Cheadle walking from reception through to HR, Finance and Quantity Surveying. Kevin was able to take the students on a tour using an iPad camera while Ellie provided a running commentary from her officeon the 2nd floor.
Outcomes:
- The students now understand that Balfour Beatty isn’t just about construction and that there are different roles available within Balfour Beatty’s business and admin teams.
- Information on the roles available within the organisation was provided in an interactive way and students were given an insight of life inside Balfour Beatty’s Head office in Cheadle
- Guidance on embarking on a career within Balfour Beatty was given and students were signposted to various websites and social media pages
- The young people involved had an insight into what Balfour Beatty are looking for regarding work experience and at CV / interview stage
Learn Live offers a unique and innovative way for students to meet an employer from the comfort of their classroom and interact live using various media platforms such as Twitter. Due to the simplicity of the Learn Live format, students are more emboldened and feel more relaxed to ask questions and gain a further insight into the world of work, which enables them to become better prepared for graduate and non-graduate interview processes. Feedback from students has been extremely positive, especially the ‘site visit’ whereby students got to actually see a company in operation whilst the employer walked around their HQ. Thus, students gain access to various departments within a business and gain a more comprehensive understanding of an organisations overall structure. Learn Live contributes significantly in preparing young persons for the world of work, enhancing their confidence and providing them with a better chance of success.
Paul Fenner, Careers Advisor at Bolton Sixth Form
