Preparing pupils for the world of work

Date posted: 15th July 2022

For a second year running, TPT and Priestley Smith School helped Year-13 students get job-search ready.

Pupils from the specialist school for children with a vision impairment took part in the joint project that simulated each stage in securing a job.

The employment team at TPT, together with Julia Weston, Head of 6th form and Suzy McDonald, Habilitation Specialist, at Priestley Smith School, created fake job roles.  The students each produced a CV and personal statement which they sent to TPT before a set deadline.  They then attended mock interviews.

Jeff Page, TPT’s Head of Employment, said: “It’s so important students learn about career options and how to apply for roles.  This project gave them a taste of what is like.  It was so brilliant to watch these young people grow in just the short time we worked with them.”

 

Comments from students included:

Rihana: “I was very nervous of the computer and doing the interview on Zoom – but after a few short minutes I had forgotten to be nervous and chatted with Jeff about the answers I had written down.”

 

Ammar: “I answered all the questions in the interview.  I overcame a huge amount of nerves to do this. I liked dressing smartly and getting some nice comments from our staff about my shirt and tie.  Working with the iPad went better than I expected. The experience was good overall.”

 

Frank: “I had done things like this before with year 11 but because this was with a real outside organization it felt really professional.”

 

Miah: “I was proud of myself for staying calm throughout the whole thing.”

 

Shaan: “It was good to be interviewed by people who also understood about eye conditions themselves.”

 

Julia added: “It was interesting to see the anticipation and nervousness before the interview melt into an excited ‘Gosh I did it’ enthusiasm as the day went on.  The students all got a real buzz of excitement from the event, and it has become a real focus to understand what is expected of them in ‘the real world’.

“It’s such a valuable part of their preparation for adulthood – just learning to talk to others is key in developing their job ready skills.”

 

Students were able to use the employment resources on the TPT website including the ‘Tips for interviewing’ to prepare.

Following the interviews they received feedback on what went well or not so well.

Read the story from last year’s job search project.