Friday 14 October 2011

College helps young people boost their employability skills

Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC) has provided a week long of events to help students to boost their employability skills.

Students studying the Network to Work course took part in various activities as part of the College’s Employers’ Week (10-14 October). A range of local business experts were on hand to offer advice, including Tony Altham (local businessman and networking expert), Louise Griffin of Achieve Your Potential, Kerry Bonfiglio of Appointments Personnel and Steve Cunningham of Blind Vision.

Students also took part in an ‘Employer Carousel’, where they got the opportunity to speed network with local employers including representitives from Newcastle Borough Council, Bibby Consulting and Support, Staffordshire Police and Intercog.


 Pictured: Craig Brown from Newcastle Borough Council and student Ben Adams aged 18.



Simone Taylor from Bibby Consulting and Support said: “As a former NULC student it was a pleasure to come back and pass on my experiences to the students. There’s an immense amount of knowledge to be learnt on the job and I am looking forward to passing this knowledge on.”


Carl Kelsall, Neighbourhood Policing Officer for Staffordshire Police said: “It’s important for young people to know there are various skills they need in the workplace. Confidence and communication skills are vital employability skills, which I can see these students have developed during the session.”


The Network to Work course was set up by Computing, Accounting and Business staff at NULC to prepare its students for life in the workplace. The course is six weeks in duration and at the end of the course students have the opportunity to progress on to a full-time course, apprenticeship or go in to the workplace.


During a week when youth unemployment was reported at a record high with more than one in five 16 to 24-year-olds out of work, the College is keen to give its students the skills they need to succeed in securing employment after College.


Deb Harrison, Curriculum Leader for Computing, Accounting and Business said: “The Network to Work course has enabled our students to work closely with local employers to gain a wealth of knowledge including how to conduct themselves in a job interview, how to write CVs, how to network and more.”

Pictured: Employers and students from the Employer Carousel.

Ben Adams, aged 18 from Werrington this week completes the Network to Work course and has two apprenticeship interviews lined up. He said: “The course has helped me with CV writing, interview skills and shown me the general do’s and don’ts when in an interview. I have enjoyed chatting to employers and they’ve helped my confidence grow.”

Employers who are interested in getting involved in the Network to Work course or interested in employing an apprentice from NULC can find out more by contacting Deb Harrison on deb.harrison@nulc.ac.uk or call 01782 254374.


Students boost employability skills

Students from the Computing, Accounting and Business Department at Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC) are to get help boosting their employability skills.

Employers’ Week, which is being held from Monday 10 – Friday 14 October, will see students from the College’s new ‘Network to Work’ course taking part in various activities including CV workshops and mock interviews.

A range of local business experts will be on hand to offer advice, including Tony Altham (local businessman and networking expert), Louise Griffin of Achieve Your Potential, Mike Grocott of Intercog, Kerry Bonfiglio of Appointments Personnel, Steve Cunningham of Blind Vision and representatives from Newcastle Borough Council.

Students will also take part in an ‘Employer Carousel’, where they will get the opportunity to speed network with local employers.

The Network to Work course was set up by Computing, Accounting and Business staff at NULC to prepare students for life in the workplace. The course runs for six weeks and at the end students have the opportunity to progress on to a full-time course or apprenticeship, or seek employment.

Deb Harrison, Curriculum Leader for Computing, Accounting and Business said: “At NULC, we are proud of our close links with local employers, which enable us to ensure our students leave college fully prepared for life in the workplace. The aim of our Employers’ Week is to help our students learn how to conduct themselves in a job interview, how to write a winning CV, how to network and much more.”

A new Network to Work course will begin after October half-term. Anyone interested in joining the course can contact the Information Point on 01782 254254 or email info@nulc.ac.uk for more information.