MP launches Work Experience Week at Cavendish School

Hemel Hempstead MP Mike Penning visited Cavendish School recently to launch the school’s Work Experience Week.

Work Experience Week at Cavendish this year took on a new twist for Year 10 students. While half the year group went out on placement with employers, the remaining students stayed in school and took part in a programme of activities to learn more about what employers are expecting and develop some of their own employability skills.

Launching the event, Mike Penning gave a talk about the exciting, competitive world of work and how employers need to recruit smart, creative, well qualified people.

Mike said:
“Work experience is often the first taste of the world of work for young people. The range of career opportunities on offer is often mind boggling, so the experience is valuable in giving young people the chance to see what it is really like.

“It is a competitive world so I encourage all young people to take every opportunity to gain experience and help decide the path they eventually chose to follow.”

Mike also took part in a Sociology lesson with Sixth Form students.

Sarah Williams-Gardener of IBM then led workshops with the Year 10 students on recognising their personal achievements, encouraging the students to think more broadly when compiling personal statements. An ex-student of Cavendish, Sarah is also school governor with a special interest in careers education at school.

She said:
“It was amazing to learn all about the students achievements, helping them translate these into the language looked for by potential employers.”

Tuesday saw PR professional John Bennett of Talking Trade Communications working with the students on “Marketing Yourself”, a fascinating session which some Sixth Form students also attended.

A team from NatWest, led by June Wilkinson organised an Enterprise Day, where teams of students competed against one another to pitch for a catering contract to host a prom, complete with menus, decorations and costings which they presented to a panel.

Finally, students took part in IT workshops to focus on careers research on the web, supported by Youth Connexions Hertfordshire. Here was a chance for the students to explore their own career ideas online, and develop their own route-map towards their career goals.