Success in Work Experience and Developing Soft-Skills

At TGGS, we pride ourselves on supporting students to both seek and secure work experiences in areas that interest them.  These experiences are invaluable to providing an insight into future potential careers, as well as helping them to develop the essential skills required in the working world, as identified by the Skills Builder Partnership.   

The opportunities to participate in work experience and enrichment are vast. Some examples include the Way Finding Scheme at Torbay Hospital; more than 15 students have been working at Torbay Hospital assisting patients with finding their way around the maze of buildings, as well as experiencing the atmosphere of a busy hospital environment. Ten students have also been involved in volunteering at Mayfield School helping to support students with profound learning and physical difficulties. We are also extremely pleased that we currently have two teams taking part in the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award, a fantastic achievement for those involved.               

Two of our students, Yen-Li Yeap and Hannah Apitz have also been working with Unifrog assisting them with updating their systems to make them even more student friendly for our students and many more around the country! In addition, Yen-Li also undertook a work experience with Bentley Motors, through the scheme offered by Speakers for Schools. On receiving the model, Yen Li commented “I would never have found work experience with Bentley Motors without Speakers for Schools and I really enjoyed learning about the business.” The leading car manufacturer is offering over 280 work experience opportunities throughout 2021.The most recent work experience was aimed at young women who may not have considered a career in this industry. The advantage of virtual work experience allowed students from across the UK to take part with the Crewe-based manufacturer, from Cumbria to Torquay, female students were able to gain insight into this Bentley Motors. Since March 2020, Speakers for Schools has offered an engaging, virtual platform for young people to access eye-opening career experience. This has become all the more important as the pandemic has slowed in-person work experience opportunities and young people have been prevented from exploring new career paths or connecting directly with employers.

We hope that these experiences will help students to make informed decisions about their future pathways as well as broaden their outlook. These examples are only a snapshot of the different opportunities that we help to facilitate, and we look forward to working with more local employers next year.