The Bedford College Group
College construction project kick starts student’s career
A BTEC student at Bedford College, Aleksandra Stepien has landed her fi rst job, with construction company Ashe, after it gave her a work placement on a multi-million project it was delivering on behalf of T e Bedford College Group. Ashe, who were working on a 15-month, £10.5m decarbonisation
and recladding project at Bedford College Tower, approached the college to fi nd out if it had any students that needed work experience. Aleksandra, who was studying a BTEC Level 3 in Business at the
college, jumped at the chance of completing her 360 hours work experience at the same place as she was studying. Every Tuesday, Aleksandra provided business support to the
Ashe team, from checking subcontractors’ certifi cates to uploading important documents into the IT system, filing, scanning, photocopying and organising drawings, all essential elements of the construction process. When the project at Bedford College was complete, Aleksandra
continued her work placement by moving to Ashe’s project at Sandy School, where she is now working as a full-time employee on an £11.5m project to provide a new ICT suite, food technology facilities and classrooms. Jane Bland, Account Manager at Bedford College said: “We are
keen to work with companies like Ashe to help us provide work placements which can benefi t both the students and the organisation they work with. If there are 30 students in a class, we need 30 appropriate work placements to help them develop their skills and
experience. T e courses we deliver are developing a pipeline of talented, skilled individuals ready to join the local workforce. Forward thinking companies like Ashe help students learn and understand their industries, and that’s really important to prepare them for their future careers.” Working closely with Ashe project manager, Danny Roberts,
Aleksandra said one of her most challenging tasks has been to separate snagging lists for subcontractors and no day is the same. She said: “I really enjoy the working environment, I meet new people every day and there’s lots of variety in the work that I do. I think that Ashe really values its employees.” Danny Roberts said: “It’s lovely to see young people joining us
from the educational establishments that we are helping to improve. It’s even better when they complete their studies and join us as permanent colleagues. Aleks is doing a great job. She’s learning about all the critical details necessary for the construction process and supporting the site team in many ways, such as carrying out induction audits, issuing snagging lists, process checklists and a variety of other administrative tasks. She’s an asset to the team and has even brought in home-made brownies!” Aleksandra is currently going through the induction process at
Ashe to ensure she understands all of the company’s procedures and can access the technology she needs to help her with her work.
Businesses interested in working with T e Bedford College Group to off er work placements should contact Business Development on 01234 291747, email
training@bedford.ac.uk or visit
www.bedford.ac.uk
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