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Working for the future How to get Maidstone’s young


THE Downs Mail has joined with Maidstone Council to promote work opportunities for the town’s young people.


During the next six months we will be featuring articles to help the future of Maidstone find out which education, employment and training opportunities are available in the borough.


There will also be information for businesses who might be in- terested in offering opportunities to young people. We will let you know about work experience, apprenticeships


and starting your own business. Through case studies we will show you what it’s like working in those jobs and the responsibilities you can expect. You will also find out more about developing a


career in certain industries. If you own or manage a busi- ness, we will highlight the support available to you to offer opportu- nities to young people – and why you might want to take it up.


The benefits of work experience


HAVE you ever wondered what it is like to do a particular job or work in a specific industry?


A work experience placement is a


great way to find out. You can gain practical experience in the industry, get used to working in a team, de- velop your skills and improve your chances of getting a job.


Advice for young people


So you’ve decided that a work ex- perience placement might be a good idea to help you find employ- ment or boost your skill set, but how


do you organise one? There are various ways you can search – online through company websites or recruitment companies; by writing directly to the business; through family or friends; or through the job centre. Whichever method you choose, the same prin- ciples still apply: Make sure that your CV demon-


strates what skills you’ve developed through your studies, extracurricu- lar activities or previous work. Tailor your CV to reflect the work of the company you are applying to.


If you are making a speculative


application, explain why you want to work for the company and the skills and experience you can offer. Find out the specifics of your role, what the manager is looking for and whether this fits with your ex- pectations. Ask whether there are any training opportunities and the support that might be available. It can sometimes take a while to


arrange a placement, so think ahead and speak with the company well in advance of when you’d like to start the work.


If you don’t get a response to


your letter or email, why not give them a phone call to make sure that they’ve received it? Remember, the placement does not have to be working in your dream job.


Think about the skills you’ll gain, and how they can help you apply for that dream job. You might learn about team working, communica- tion skills or how to use a particular computer programme. Look at the placement as a step on to the ca- reer ladder.


Case study: learning the ropes at Maidstone Council


Hannah McKay, customer services advisor


“I came to a work experience coffee morning at Maidstone Council hoping to find a placement in an admin or customer service role to help with future employment. I met lots of managers and had a thorough chat about the types of roles and departments available. “A week after the coffee morning


I was offered an eight-week place- ment with the customer services team, with hours to work around my daughter’s school times. “When I started in the contact centre I was paired with a customer services advisor to start learning about the different services. It wasn’t like you expect work expe- rience to be – with the ‘boring’ jobs like filing and printing. Instead I started training straight away. I


22 Maidstone East October 2014


picked it up quite quickly, and as soon as I felt confident I was allowed on the phones. “While I was doing my work expe- rience placement, a job came up, so I’m now employed in the contact centre. I really enjoy my role and everyone’s really friendly. It’s given me a great opportunity and there’s room for progression too.”


A manager’s perspective: Louise Wenzel, contact centre team man- ager “It’s important to support work ex- perience schemes – most employers ask for experience, so people need to be given the opportunity. Han- nah joined our team for eight weeks and really impressed me, so when we had some vacant hours that suited her, she joined us on a 12-month contract.


Louise Wenzel


“In the contact centre we have to spend a lot of time training the per- son so that they get the most out of the experience. We’re very flexible with hours, but obviously the more someone is able to work, the more they’ll get out of the experience. “I work closely with the team, so I regularly caught up with Hannah


to see how she was doing. “Having someone else organise


the work experience placement once I had picked the candidate made it much easier, and overall it has been a great support to our team. Our last two work experience placements have been very dedi- cated and keen to learn and get in- volved, which has made it all worthwhile.”


TO find out what is available, the Information Hub on the Downs Mail website has a list of employment and training open- ings offered by local companies and organisations.


If you would like to apply for a role or want to advertise a work opportunity for free, go to www.downsmail.co.uk/informa- tion_hub/


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