Free BTwork placements to help youngsters in York get ‘work ready’
BT is offering free work placements to help young people in York get ‘work ready’ and prepared for their future careers.
The three week course, combining hands-on work experience with coaching and
training is open to anyone aged 16 to 24 not currently in education, employment or training.
Work placements are a great opportunity for people to build confidence and learn practical work skills such as CV writing and interview techniques. Although the course does not carry a formal qualification, attendees are given a certificate showing their attendance and achievements to demonstrate their commitment to prospective employers.
The course, the first of its kind BT has run in York, starts on November 2, 2017 and will be held at the BT office building on The Stonebow. A second work placement will start on December 1. For more details or to apply visit www.bt.com/workready.
The course is mainly office based and focuses on building and developing practical work skills. This is followed by a week ‘on the job’, shadowing employees and getting hands on experience of the working day. In York this will include an opportunity to work alongside engineers from Openreach, the business responsible for Britain’s largest phone and broadband network, as they build and maintain millions of miles of fibre and copper cables that connect every home and business in the UK to local telephone exchanges.
The final days of the work placement is spent doing mock interviews and a day assessment as well as developing an individual plan of the next steps to find employment or return to education.
Tom Keeney, chair of BT’s regional board In Yorkshire and the Humber, said: “BT work placements give local, young people the opportunity to experience the working day and gain invaluable insight of what is expected in the workplace.
“There will be more opportunities to join a work placement in York so even if you can’t attend these first two courses I’d encourage you to register your interest to make sure you don’t miss out.”
Gemma Blewitt, now a warehouse operative at BT’s Northallerton distribution centre, has previously attended one of the courses. She said: “During my course I covered various topics, and completed exercises that helped me find out more about myself. I worked on my CV, interviews skills and how to present myself to potential employers. Most importantly I gained hands on experience spending time ‘on the job’, shadowing and working alongside BT staff.
“I would highly recommend a work placement to anyone; it is a great experience and great opportunity to get you into work. It builds your confidence and opens so many doors. Overall it was a brilliant experience and I would definitely do it all over again.”
BT work placements are part of the BT Work Ready programme which is a series of initiatives provided to help young people, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, gain employment skills and get them ready for work. It’s part of BT’s commitment as a founding partner in the Movement to Work coalition of employers.**
Further information on BT’s Work Ready programme – www.bt.com/workready
