Gill Hutchinson of Aardvark Marketing Consultants Ltd has taken on a new role providing support for Woodrush High School in developing more effective links with local businesses as their designated Enterprise Advisor. Gill is joining a successful team of 40 local business leaders in Worcestershire as the LEP are the first in the country to have every school engaged in the programme.
The Enterprise Advisors are part of local networks deigned to build stronger links between schools, colleges and local business. In Worcestershire, the scheme is being delivered by the local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Worcestershire County Council. Their aim is to bring local businesses together to support schools as they develop their whole school careers strategy and, ultimately, support the development of Worcestershire’s future workforce.
For Woodrush school, there is an existing programme of careers advice and events, where students are encouraged to find out more about the world of work and different options after leaving school. These include many new apprenticeship schemes or further education at University. By inviting closer links with businesses, the students can increase their knowledge about the many opportunities available to them and business people can get involved with activities such as career talks and offering practice or mock job interviews.
Gill Hutchinson says “This new partnership programme provides a structure and better resources for all the county schools to deliver careers education. As a former teacher, I know how much students appreciate visitors and how they can benefit from learning from people with diverse backgrounds and experience. Doing a practice interview is a very valuable experience for many students who find the process of job application daunting, and they gain confidence as a result.” Woodrush High School make the process of doing an interview easy and even provide prompt list of questions to get you started.