Work Experience Welcome Pack
Congratulations on your successful application to complete a work experience placement with the City & Guilds Group! We hope that your placement will give you an enjoyable experience of a real workplace, help you develop important skills and think about your future career‌
Welcome
Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
Contents Successfully completing your work experience
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Welcome 03 Work experience aims and objectives
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Planning your work experience
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Creating a positive impression
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How this experience may be different to school/college
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Our expectations
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Dos and Don’ts
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Your team
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Your role
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Work experience daily planner
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Jargon buster
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City & Guilds Group policies
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Keeping a record / your notes
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Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
Successfully completing
your work experience
You will be required to complete a number of activities during your work experience. In order to successfully complete the work experience training you must pass three assessments as follows:
Assessment 1 Task A: Produce a short biography Task B: Answer six questions about the City & Guilds Group
Assessment 3 Prioritising work and using positive verbal and non-verbal communication with colleagues. Your mentor will observe your performance and will provide a written evaluation of their assessment
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Assessment 2 Identifying important skills that are required at work and explain why they are important
Please note In order to pass your overall work experience and to receive your City & Guilds accredited certificate you must complete all of the assessments
Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
Welcome The City & Guilds Group is about more than skills, or qualifications, or jobs. Our purpose is to help people and organisations develop their skills for personal and economic growth. The skills that help people to progress into a job, on the job, and onto the next job. We do this in collaboration with education providers, employers and governments. Our core values of leadership, imagination and integrity guide how we deliver our purpose. They shape the way we work, our products and services and the way we act each and every day. The City & Guilds Group consists of City & Guilds, City & Guilds Kineo, ILM, The Oxford Group and DigitalMe. • City & Guilds – works with FE colleges and education providers to deliver qualifications, assessments and learning resources to help give the UK workforce technical skills that employers demand. • City & Guilds Kineo – provides businesses around the world with complete learning solutions – whether that’s accreditation and apprenticeships, elearning, or a blended solution – helping clients to grow their businesses by unlocking the potential of their most valuable asset – their employees. • The Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) – provides a combination of industry-leading qualifications, accreditation, learning support and advice services, to help individuals, education
providers and businesses improve the standards of leadership and management in order to drive social and economic prosperity. •T he Oxford Group – helps the world’s leading organisations get the best from their people to successfully manage change and improve business performance for long-term success. It does this by delivering inspirational development programmes that maximise potential. •D igitalme – provides digital credentialing that recognises individuals’ competencies and supports employers in finding talent for their businesses. They work with employers, schools and training organisations to develop and recognise individuals’ skills and wider talents in challenging and fun ways. Work experience is a fantastic way for young people to learn about the world of work and gain important skills to get them into their first job. The City & Guilds Group conducted research which found that almost 80% of employers think work experience is essential to preparing young people for work, while two thirds of employers would be more likely to hire a young person with work experience.
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Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
Work experience aims
& objectives Aims The aims of this work experience are to: • Give you an opportunity to experience working in a real business environment • Help you become more aware of your employment opportunities.
Objectives By the end of your work experience you should: • Know what general skills and behaviours are expected at work • Be able to complete typical daily activities within a team • Be able to prioritise your workload and meet deadlines • Be able to communicate with colleagues confidently and effectively • Understand your strengths and areas for improvement in a work environment.
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Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
Planning your
work experience
Before you even arrive for your work experience at the City & Guilds Group, there are a number of things that you need to find out. • Time: It’s important that you make a good first impression and arrive on time each day. You are required to arrive at reception on day 1 at : and ask for : Each day you will start at: and you will finish at:
• Clothing: If you are not sure what the dress-code is, it is important to ask in advance as your clothes should be suitable for the work experience. Make sure that your outfit is ready the night before to save you time in the morning. You are required to wear:
• Your journey: It is important that you are sure of your route to work, so you don’t have to worry about being late. Plan ahead: work out how long your journey will take and leave extra time just in case unexpected transport delays.
•T he company: To make the most of your work experience, do some research on the City & Guilds Group in advance, so that you have a good understanding of the company. Read the latest updates on their website and search online for news stories about the company. If you are on Twitter, it’s a good idea to follow The City & Guilds Group to keep up to date. • Lunch: We will cover the cost for your lunch during your work experience. If you are based in our Group head office you will be entitled to lunch in our staff café or restaurant. If you are based outside of the head office, you will be reimbursed up to £5 per day for lunch at the end of your work experience – do make sure you keep all your receipts. •T ravel: We can book your train tickets to and from your work experience up to the amount of £100 per week. Please email your train travel requests to workexperience@cityandguilds.com. Alternatively, you can book your own tickets (up to this amount) and claim this back - but make sure that this has been agreed in advance and that you keep all your receipts.
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Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
Creating a positive impression The office atmosphere is different in every work place. For example, some teams may be more formal while others, more relaxed. As a new person joining the team, it is a good idea to always approach your colleagues in a polite and friendly manner, and try to follow their lead on how best to behave. You will need to think about the impression you want people to have of you during your work experience. Every team is different, but here are some tips for how you can make a good impression: • Professionalism: Always be on time and shake hands when meeting people. Face people when they are talking to you and make an effort to remember the names of your colleagues. One helpful tip is to always carry a note pad with you to write down the details and deadlines of tasks that you are given.
• Enthusiasm: Your attitude is important and enthusiasm is always appreciated. Approach all tasks with a positive mind-set and finish them to the best of your ability. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about anything you are unsure of – this will show that you are interested in the work. It will also help you to contribute more fully to the task.
• Teamwork: Teamwork is about working smoothly and effectively with other people to get a job done. Good teamwork should make your work easier and lead to a better end result. It also creates a nicer working environment. Always try to take a positive attitude and to be as helpful as possible. For example, by offering to help your work colleagues.
• Flexibility: People in the company are often very busy and so it is important to be as flexible as possible when organising meetings and fit your workload around their schedule.
• Communication: Good communication is essential for teams to work well and understand each other. It means talking to your colleagues to keep them updated on the progress of tasks and aware of any issues or changes in circumstances.
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• Ideas: Don’t be afraid to come up with ideas and contribute to the team. Companies are always on the lookout for new ways of doing things and these often come from a having a fresh perspective.
Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
How this experience may be different to
school/college
• The average working day is a lot longer than a school/college day with fewer breaks, so expect to feel tired for the first few days! • You don’t have to ask permission to go to the toilet, but if you intend to leave the office for a longer period of time (e.g. to get some lunch), it’s best to let someone know where you will be and what time you will be back. It is also worth having the office number saved on your phone in case of an emergency. • Unlike at school/college, you will see colleagues using their phones at their desk but this will be for work purposes. You are permitted to bring your phone to work however should only use it during lunch and breaks.
Our expectations • Sickness: If you are absent from work due to sickness or injury, you must contact your mentor immediately to let them know. It is important that this is done by you and not your parents, relatives or friends. You should also give an indication of whether you will be back at work the following day, or if you are likely be absent for longer. If you feel ill whilst at work, tell your mentor immediately so that arrangements can be made for you to go home if necessary. • Lateness: As soon as you think you might be late to work, contact your mentor or team and let them know. Try to do this as soon as possible and not when you are already late. • Appearance and personal hygiene: During your work experience you are likely to come into contact with a number of customers. We expect you to pay attention to personal hygiene and turn up for work in clean and ironed clothes. • Personal behaviour: At the City & Guilds Group we expect polite and friendly to all staff and customers. We will not tolerate swearing on the premises or any other abusive language.
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There are a few rules to follow to make the most of the work experience opportunity.
Dos & Don’ts Dos
Don’ts
• Check office rules: On your first day, you should check the basic rules about how the office works. For example, ask if you should answer the phone and, if so, if you should answer with a particular greeting and how to transfer calls. Likewise, find out whether you are expected to follow any email style, e.g. using a particular signature format, greeting or sign-off.
• Be careful about social media: Most workplaces will expect you to be professional and respectful about the company in public, and this includes on social media. You should not post negative or personal comments about your work experience on social media or on a blog. Equally, you should not spend your time on social media sites. Remember that you are in a work environment and have a role to perform.
• Ask questions and take notes: When you are given a task to do, asking questions and taking notes will help you understand what is being asked of you, and will also make you look wellprepared and enthusiastic. Don’t be afraid to speak up! It is worth bringing a pen and notepad on your first day. • Be helpful: You will have some set tasks as part of your work experience, but an important part of your role is to provide help and support to your colleagues, so try to be flexible to support them where possible – for example, helping someone set up a room for a meeting or printing documents. This supportive approach will be greatly appreciated by your colleagues.
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• Listening to music: Some offices take a laid -back approach to listening to music or the radio. To get the most out of your work experience, leave your earphones in your pocket and try to get involved in conversations with your team. • Slang: Avoid using informal or slang language. Workplaces are a professional environment and how you speak will inform others’ first impressions of working with you. Informal language or swearwords may not be understood and could cause offence. Using clear and easily understood language in both spoken conversations and email discussions is the best way to appear professional – and make sure that your colleagues take you seriously.
Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
Your team
Your role
The team you will be working in:
It is important to understand what your role will be and what you want to gain from the work experience. Answer these questions before you join the team.
This team is located:
What is the role of your team? The role profile provided gives you information about the team that you will be joining and the activities that you will be involved in.
Your mentor The role of your mentor is to provide you with 1-2-1 support to help you to develop key knowledge and skills used within the work place.
What do you want to gain from your work experience?
Your mentor is:
Their contact details are:
The Sustainability Team
List 3 personal goals
The Sustainability team is responsible for the planning and organising of your work experience. If you need any travel arrangements or experience any difficulties prior to day 1, this is your first point of contact. They are also available should you experience any problems during your work experience.
1. 2. 3.
The Sustainability Team contact details: Email: workexperience@cityandguilds.com Tel: 0207 294 4324 or 0207 294 2494
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Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
What skills do you already have that you can you can use during your work experience?
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Which skills would you like to further develop?
Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
Work experience daily planner On day 1 you will be given a weekly planner that outlines your day-to-day activities. Your mentor will issue your planner and will go through this in detail with you. Mon
Tues
Wed
Thurs
Fri 8am
Travelling to work
9am
Meet mentor Induction Work on Work Experience Pack
10am
Complete evaluation End of work experience 1-2-1 with
11am
12 Lunch
1pm
Write blog
2pm
3pm Complete assessment 1
Work on Work Experience Pack
Complete assessment 2
Work on Work Experience Pack
Hand in Work Skills Development pack 4pm
Day one reflections assessment 1
Mid-week 1-2-1 Assessment 2 review Home time
5pm
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Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
Keeping a record
Jargon buster
You will be asked to keep a record of your activities and work completed during your work experience. On a daily basis you will be required to consider:
Your colleagues may use some words or phrases you’ve not encountered before – below is a guide to some common words which are used in workplaces.
• What you did
Timesheet: Employees are often asked to log the number of hours they work on certain projects so that the employer can manage and plan work appropriately. These hours are logged in a timesheet.
• Who you worked with • What you learnt • Skills you used and developed • Any difficult moments you experienced • Anything you might now do differently • Objectives achieved
You can write your activities on the note paper in this work book
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Conference call: This is a meeting often held with people outside of the company, via a group phone call on loudspeaker, rather than a face-to-face meeting. Close of business (COB): This refers to the time that people finish work and it is often used as a deadline, for example “The project needs to be finished by close of business”. Sometimes the terms ‘close of play or ‘end of business/play’ is used instead. OOO: This is an abbreviation for ‘Out of office’ which is the automatic email response that employees put on their emails when they are away from the office for a significant amount of time, such as, when they are on holiday. This is useful to let people know they are not receiving emails. Stakeholder: This is any person or organisation with an interest or concern in the business. Moving the conversation forward: This is to describe progress in a series of meetings and discussions.
Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
City & Guilds Group policies On your first day your mentor will provide an induction. This will cover a range of health and safety requirements as well as City & Guilds Group policies and procedures. Please ask your mentor if you would like to see a copy any of the following City & Guilds Group documents:
• Access arrangements • Equal opportunities policy • Health and safety policy • Data Protection and confidentiality policy • Complaints procedure • Appeals procedure • Safeguarding policy Alternatively you can email workexperience@cityandguilds.com
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Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
Your record / notes:
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Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
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Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
Your record / notes:
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Work Experience Welcome Pack V1
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We hope you enjoy your work experience at City & Guilds Group
City & Guilds Group 1 Giltspur Street London, UK EC1A 9DD www.cityandguildsgroup.com