City College Plymouth theworkspace Sept 2014

Your journey into Employment starts here…

Whether you are looking for paid employment, to start your own business or just some industry specific knowledge, theworkspace can help. We offer careers advice and guidance, work experience placements, visits from industry experts and business start-up workshops.

Welcome to a new year at City College Plymouth, and to the start of your journey into a successful future. Employability and enterprise is at the heart of everything that we do - we aim to give students the tools to be successful in life after College. We do this by teaching you technical skills alongside the opportunity to develop the skills and characteristics needed to be progress in work, Higher Education or self-employment.

This year we will be launching two exciting new additions to the Employability and Enterprise offer.

Working in partnership with St Luke’s Hospice we will be launching St Luke’s Vintage, our very own high end shop.

You will have the opportunity to gain experience from working in a retail setting as well as the chance to take it over and create your own shop for a day to offer your product and services.

theworkspace is your one-stop-shop for everything “Employability and Enterprise”. The team is on hand to support you to gain the experiences that today’s employers are looking for.

This magazine will showcase some of the fantastic opportunities that students have accessed over the years, as well as giving you information on activities and competitions that are available to you.

theworkspace recruitment service will be opening in September and will give you

the chance to register for support to find work. With an increase in the number of employers contacting the College looking to employ students the centre will deliver a professional matching service for students looking for paid employment.

Keep a look out for details on how to register.

College is not just about getting a qualification; it is about starting the rest of your life. It is up to you to make the most of your time here and take advantage of all the support, advice and opportunities that are available to you.

For the best chance of being successful in life after College, come and see us on the main corridor at Kings Road or the first floor of the Goschen Centre, or see our page on Moodle.

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Meet the team

Down Tor Ring-Cai

rn

This large ring-cairn (11m diameter) consists of 25 small well-space d stones making up the ring (also known as a retaining circle) at the west end of the stone row. There are two flat granite in the centre of slabs the stone ring that may be the remains of a stone (or kistvaen) suggestingchest called a cist it may have been a burial chamber.

Grid Referenc e

1 Stone Row 2 Ring-Cairn

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2

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Bronze Age 2500 - 700 BC

Down Tor Stone

SX 5876 6929 SX 5868 6926

Row

This 350m long stone row was re-erected in 1894 and is made leading to a stone up of 157 stones ring cairn at the end with a 2.7m west high terminal stone.

Stone rows were usually associated burial chambers with and may have been erected as a procession al approach to chambers. the

Bronze Age 2500

© Crown copyright

2014. OS Licence

2

- 700 BC

Focus on Student Liaison Enterprise

Number 100045372.

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Employability

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Highlights

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Workshops & Activities

Meet the team Kelsey Flynn, theworkspace Apprentice Administrator Kelsey recently joined the Employability and Enterprise team here at the College to study an Apprenticeship level 2 NVQ in Business Administration. After attending All Saints Academy in Plymouth and gaining 12 GCSE’s and three A levels, Kelsey is eager to progress her career within the College and would like to develop her skills to become a Manager in the next five years.

Kathy Hyde, Employability and Enterprise Officer Kathy has been a member of staff at the College for 12 years, having taken on a number of different jobs which have helped her develop key skills for use in her current role as part of the Employability & Enterprise team.

As the College’s Employability and Enterprise officer, Kathy is responsible for supporting students with short-term work experience placements, engagement with local employers to support industry talks and work experience opportunities.

By linking with local employers, students are able to access advice, as well as gather insider knowledge on the realities of working in a particular sector.

Kathy said “I am really looking forward to supporting our students with employability related activities and am keen to offer the guidance needed to help them gain confidence and develop the skills employers’ value”

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Call: 01752 856825 E-mail: theworkspace@cityplym.ac.uk

Kelsey said “Choosing to study an Apprenticeship was a great fit for me as it combines gaining a qualification together with working directly in the sector I am looking to develop a career in. I am looking forward to helping students prepare for interview, look for work experience and support them with key employability skills. The Gazelle enterprise competitions we run are really exciting and fantastic opportunities for students to develop the skills employers are looking for, such as team work, communication and business acumen.”

If you would like to find out more about how theworkspace can help you find employment or a work placement, visit the team in the main corridor at Kings Road.

The Student Liaison team are able to assist with welfare and support, as well as ensuring you make the most of your student journey here at City College Plymouth.

Focus on Student Liaison

The Student Union is the centre of activity for students and is designed to enhance the quality of student life, support co-curricular activities and contribute to getting students heard. The Student Union are heavily involved with The National Union of Students (NUS), a voluntary membership organisation which makes a real difference to the lives of students and its students’ unions. Course Representatives are peer nominated each year to take the lead role in feeding back information in to the Student Union. This information then gets discussed and is followed up by relevant members of staff to ensure student’s needs are met.

Our enrichment co-ordinator is in place to enhance student participation in enrichment activities and exciting external trips for students. Our College Sports Maker works towards increasing sports, physical activities and opportunities for students here at the College.

The student support workers are on hand to ensure that you are supported when life unexpectedly takes a turn for the worse. You will be thoroughly supported throughout your time at College whether that is for late coursework or changes in personal circumstances. The student support workers are also on hand to assist with student voice matters, campaigns and running the student centres.

All the activities offered can enhance your chances of gaining employment through the development of key characteristics.

Employers are looking for students to stand out from the crowd, participation in activities like the Student Union can make the difference when applying for work.

Visit the Student Centre at Kings Road next to the entrance of the Construction building or at Goschen Centre GC122.

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Enterprise As a Gazelle College, there are many opportunities for you to be more enterprising and embrace an entrepreneurial mind-set. The following opportunities could be just what you’re looking for…

Looking for an opportunity to showcase your enterprise skills? Want to network with prospective employers?

Launched earlier this year, City College Plymouth’s student enterprise society is now hiring!

Donut Seeds Presents aims to provide invaluable real-world experience and knowledge to students through close working between the College and local businesses. The society is looking for enthusiastic students to join the team who are keen to take on a completely new, challenging role to promote, support and host enterprising events.

Global Entrepreneurship Week 17 - 23 November 2014 The theme of this year’s Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) is ‘Get Connected’ which aims to encourage current and aspiring entrepreneurs to take a step forward in their plans with new business ideas through support from the local community. This could be starting out in business, expanding a current business model or seeking new opportunities to diversify and grow.

The College will be offering enterprise events and activities in the run up to and during GEW itself as part of a City-wide focus - keep updated via the student intranet, our screens and boards in the main corridor and via your Tutors.

The following positions are available…

Marketing Executive – involved in developing marketing campaigns to promote the society and its events. The role includes planning, advertising, event organisation, sponsorship and research.

Event Organiser – a hands-on role with a wide range of activities requiring clear communication, excellent organisational skills and attention to detail. You must work well under pressure, ensuring the smooth and efficient running of society events.

Membership Officer – responsible for attracting new members and managing the contacts of existing ones.

Gazelle Student Ambassadors As part of the Gazelle College’s group, City College Plymouth want to hear from students who would like to represent the College and promote enterprise to the student body. Ambassadors will have the opportunity to attend local and national exhibitions and conferences as well as influencing how entrepreneurial education is delivered. Visit our stand at Fresher’s Fair on Thursday 25 September and find out how you can get involved in becoming a Gazelle Ambassador.

Last year the College welcomed Melody Hossaini, star of BBC’s The Apprentice, who talked about her time on the programme as well as her role as a social entrepreneur. Melody ran two exciting boot camps for students to really get to grips with developing a business idea and the groups came up with some brilliant ways of how to brainstorm a business concept and even had the chance to present their idea to Melody.

Money Mogul Do you have a money making idea? Are you a budding entrepreneur? Do you think you have a winning sales technique and reckon you have what it takes to be City College Plymouth’s Money Mogul team? Then sign up for our Money Mogul competition, running from Monday 13 October through to Friday 17 October.

Last year, eight teams took part in the competition and raised almost £600 to help St Luke’s Hospice, with the winning team receiving a cash prize for their hard work. Do you have what it takes to be the 2014 Money Mogul winners? This is your opportunity to develop an enterprising idea, be your own boss and gain capital for your business so sign up today with theworkspace and try your hand at winning this brilliant competition!

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Call: 01752 856825 E-mail: theworkspace@cityplym.ac.uk

The deadline for registering your team (up to six people) is Wednesday 8 October. Contact theworkspace team by e-mailing theworkspace@cityplym.ac.uk or call 01752 856825.

The Market Maker Competition 2014 Do you have a business idea that you would like to try? This is the competition for you! Taking place from Monday 8 September, you will have the opportunity to develop and run a business using online state-ofthe-art technology. The Institute for Virtual Enterprise ‘Market Maker’ has its own financial environment and all the components to simulate a real economy.

Develop a business plan, create a website and pitch to a specialist panel for your chance to win the top prize of a trip to New York!

Will Young, CEO of last year’s team Tread Sure said “It’s been an amazing life experience. This isn’t something we would normally have got the chance to be involved in through our course and we appreciate being given the opportunity. We will take away the skills we have learned through the competition and use them for future ventures we may be involved with.”

If you have a revolutionary business idea and think you have what it takes to represent the College at a national level, contact theworkspace team for more details and to register.

For more information, visit the student intranet to register, the deadline for registration is Friday 26 September and detailed business plans must be submitted by Wednesday 1 October.

Here is one of last year’s student enterprise projects….

ESOL New Frontiers Twelve students from City College Plymouth secured a £3,000 social enterprise grant from UnLtd to produce a visitor’s guide for Burrator Reservoir. The students, all speakers of other languages, had been working with the South West Lakes trust at Burrator Reservoir to research the area as part of their course. The group approached theworkspace with an idea to produce the book and were recommended to apply for the FE Pioneers project. Their application for funding was successful and in July the first copies of Burrator Alive with History was printed. The book has been written, illustrated and designed by the group with support from local experts. It provides visitors with an insight into history of this part of Dartmoor National Park as well as suggestions of walks and areas of interest.

Mohammad Leily a student in the group said “This was a fantastic project for us to take part in. The project has really helped to develop our use of the English language as well as learn valuable enterprise skills. The first time we saw the final version of the book we were all very proud.”

Copies of Burrator Alive with History are available to buy from theworkspace.

Down Tor Rin

g-Cairn

This large ring -cairn (11m diam eter) consists of 25 small well-spa ced stones making up the ring (also know n as a retaining circle) at the west end of stone row. Ther e are two flat gran the in the centre of ite slabs the stone ring that may be the remains of a ston (or kistvaen) sugg e chest called a cist esting it may have a burial chamber. been

The Edge Challenge 2014 Do you have an innovative business idea and would like to secure funds to make it happen? Enter the Edge Challenge 2014 and you could get up to £3000 to turn your idea into a reality. This is a fantastic opportunity for young, talented entrepreneurs to get their business ideas off the ground.

The individual winner will receive £3000 to develop their idea, as well as access to a top business mentor for six months. Second and third prizes of £1250 and £750 will also be available and there is a prize for the top team of £5000 to help develop their business proposal.

Grid Reference

1 Stone Row 2 Ring-Cairn

10

Bronze Age 2500 - 700 BC

SX 5876 6929 SX 5868 6926

Down Tor Sto

ne Row

This 350m long stone row was re-erected in 1894 and is made up of 157 stones leading to a ston e ring cairn at the west end with a 2.7m high terminal stone.

Stone rows were usually associate burial chambers d with and may have been erected as a proc essional approach chambers. to the

© Crown copyrig

ht 2014. OS Licence

2

Number 100045

372.

1

Bronze Age 250

0 - 700 BC

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Employability Luke Gentle Eco Environmental

Work Experience Employers look favourably upon people who have made an effort to source work experience or job shadowing, whether it’s for a week-long or month-long placement.

A work placement gives you the chance to gain real life experience of the working world and is invaluable in supporting you to enter your chosen career. Your work experience can be used to enhance your CV, application letter and interview, all of which can impress a potential employer; enabling you to draw on the experiences you have gained to enhance your knowledge.

Work experience equips you with skills such as team working, communication and commercial awareness, all of which are sought after by employers. It also helps you to differentiate yourself from others, an important factor to consider when competition for jobs is fierce.

Employers look positively on candidates who have gained an understanding of a business sector and have experienced what it’s like to be in a work environment, as well as studying for a qualification. A placement can also provide you with knowledge that will enhance an application for a job or a place at University. You will be able to demonstrate an awareness of the sector you want to go into and ultimately, make the right choice for your future.

Have a look at some of the students theworkspace team have helped to find a placement over the past few months…

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Call: 01752 856825 E-mail: theworkspace@cityplym.ac.uk

Case studies Luke was studying a BTEC Level 3 IT Practitioner Extended Diploma and was keen to develop his skills.

He carried out a placement at Eco Environmental, one of the UK’s largest specialist bird control companies to the property and construction sector. Luke was able to help support their internal management systems and demonstrate his knowledge of IT by designing databases and creating spread sheets. He even managed to solve a few technical problems the team were experiencing difficulties with and fixed network issues with the main server.

His employer Fiona Kerslake, Operations Director, commented “Luke went above and beyond what I was expecting and the organisation has benefited from having him here. He is a very capable talented young man, whose confidence has grown steadily since working with us. He is a great ambassador for the College and I would certainly consider offering a placement to other College students if they were of the same calibre as Luke”.

Reflecting on his time with Eco Environmental, Luke said “I really enjoyed my placement and feel relaxed and comfortable working in this environment. Gaining industry experience has helped me develop my IT skills. This, together with new skills I have learned, will enhance my CV, which in turn will benefit my future career prospects. The experience has boosted my confidence and communication skills and I really feel as though I have benefited from this opportunity”.

Beth Astill – Swallowfield

Student Beth Astill was keen to carry out work experience within a laboratory environment, to complement her BTEC studies in Applied Science. After attending a group visit to Swallowfield, enthusiastic Beth enquired about a work shadowing within the organisation and they agreed to offer her a placement in March 2014.

The company is a full service provider for global brands and retailers in the cosmetics and personal care goods market such as toiletries, beauty and homecare.

Abigail Jones, Development Manager, created a work schedule for Beth, ensuring she benefited from viewing different areas of the business, which allowed her to gain an understanding of the different processes required to achieve the final product. “We are keen to support work experience requests and every effort is made to ensure student’s get the most out of the experience. The time and effort required to accommodate students can be extremely rewarding and we have the opportunity to showcase our industry to budding chemists, Sales people or even a future MD. Beth was a joy to have. Nothing was too much trouble and she got involved in everything.”

The skills Beth learned as a result of her course allowed her to recognise most of the equipment used to produce the products along with the health and safety regulations. Of her placement, Beth commented “I’ve been creating different formulas and learning different aspects of working in a cosmetic laboratory. It’s been a real eye-opener to learn and see all the different things that go on behind the scenes to make cosmetics. Being thrown into a working environment definitely helped me learn new skills, particularly in team work and communication.” theworkspace team can support you through the process of finding work experience or job shadowing – give us a call or drop-in and see us.

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ESOL

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Call: 01752 856825 E-mail: theworkspace@cityplym.ac.uk

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Highlights Theworkspace has been involved in a whole range of activities this term. Here are some of our highlights that have taken place‌ 1 Amanda Lumley CEO of Destination Plymouth talked to Foundation degree Travel & Tourism students about the exciting new plans for Plymouth in 2020 2 Talk by SPAR Visual Merchandiser team to Business students about the importance of store layout and the positioning of products

3 Simply the Vest, the College’s Pantrepreneur team 2014, sold their products to raise awareness of Pants to Poverty) 4 ESOL New Frontiers students selling their book at the South West Lakes celebration day.

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Workshops

and Activities As a Gazelle College we are committed to ensuring our students develop into what is known as a “T-Shaped Learner.” This is someone with a depth of technical competencies as well as a breadth of capabilities and qualities.

theworkspace offers a whole range of workshops designed to support you to develop your employability and entrepreneurial skills. Where possible the workshops have been created to develop the characteristics of the Gazelle T-Shaped Learner which are so valued by employers. Use the table to see what is available…

Topics

Overview

WEXP Workshop

This one hour workshop will explain to students the value of undertaking WEXP and introduce them to the techniques of how to source a WEXP placement.

WEXP Health and Safety Workshop

This workshop will cover what students need to know in regards to Health and Safety whilst on their WEXP placement. It will prepare them and provide them with the knowledge to remain safe whilst on their placement.

It is mandatory for all students to attend this workshop if participating in a WEXP placement.

Job Search Skills, CV Writing, Covering Letters and Application Forms

This series of three one hour workshops is designed to cover the essentials of seeking and gaining employment. The first session will introduce students to the techniques of searching for work, and the importance of looking in the right places. Session two will look at CVs, covering letters and application forms, explaining the differences and what is expected from an application. Session three will bring together the first two sessions and students will source and apply for a real job.

Interviews Techniques

Over three sessions students will cover the purpose of an interview, the different types, what to expect, how to prepare and will finish off with a mock interview from a panel of industry professionals. This will provide a real understanding of what happens at an interview.

For workshop availability visit theworkspace page on the student internet.

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Call: 01752 856825 E-mail: theworkspace@cityplym.ac.uk

Volunteering Volunteering is another way to improve your chances of employment.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, recently highlighted the importance of volunteering for young people as an essential route into employment for young people in order to succeed in the workplace.

Johnson says “We have 20% of 16-24 year olds not in employment. Huge numbers of young people not getting their sup of the saucepot. Volunteering can be a route to work for teaching young people about teamwork, problem-solving and the sheer raw cunning that you need to survive in a place of work.

It is absolutely essential that we give our young kids the confidence that they can so easily get through volunteering and to use volunteering as a route to employment.”

theworkspace has good links with Plymouth Guild of Volunteers. They can support you through the process of securing a voluntary placement.

Look out for the sessions with Plymouth Guild in theworkspace to find out how you can get involved with various charities in the local area.

We have links with many organisations and it’s a great way to learn skills alongside your area of study…

Some of the benefits include: • the opportunity to gain new skills, knowledge, and experience • the chance to enhance you CV • improved employment prospects • quality reference from a respected organisation • improvements to your confidence and selfesteem • the chance to make a difference to the lives of others - give something back • team working skills • building new friendships.

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Next issue available January 2015

Employer Engagement – bridging the gap between College and the world of work. theworkspace is also keen to hear what students would like to see happen at the College. If you have any ideas please let us know and we can help you move these forward.

theworkspace is YOUR space - let us know how we can help YOU!