Business and marketing work experience week inspires the next generation of professionals

25 July 2022

Global engineering technologies company, Renishaw, recently hosted 20 students for its business and marketing work experience week. The students, aged between 14 and 18, from schools across the Bristol/Gloucestershire region, took part in virtual and in-person activities that showcased the wide range of career opportunities available to young people in the engineering sector.

Over the week, Renishaw hosted both in-person and virtual activities designed to help students experience a working environment, and develop skills for their future careers. The week began with a visit to Renishaw's New Mills headquarters in Gloucestershire. The participants were split into teams of four from different schools, to experience working with new people. The teams were then presented with a short enterprise project brief.

For the rest of the week, the students worked on their projects during virtual sessions. This involved looking at a range of commercial aspects such as marketing, purchasing and legal. At the end of the week, the teams presented their ideas and business plans to Renishaw managers.

Participants also attended in-person and virtual talks about the different commercial operations at Renishaw, such as communications and sustainability. These presentations gave students insights into the working environment, and the different career opportunities available to them within the business. The aim of the week was to show students the importance of soft skills including teamwork, problem solving, communication and leadership. Students also used the week to develop their employability skills and confidence, while learning more about the world of work.

“Our work experience weeks give young people a taste of the working environment, and all that it entails,” explained Rebecca Bound, Early Careers STEM Outreach Officer at Renishaw. “At the end of the programme, students commented that they enjoyed working with different teams, and being encouraged to step outside their comfort zone and share ideas. They also felt that the final presentation rewarded their hard work.”

She continued, “Positive feedback like this is encouraging as we want to showcase the exciting opportunities that are open to students — both at Renishaw and businesses in general.”

"I've never done anything like this before, so it was a great opportunity to meet new people and see a workplace like Renishaw in action,” explained Danteiye Hawes, a year 10 student at Severn Vale School. “This is the first time I have ever worked with students from other schools and the benefits were easy to see — meeting students from other schools and backgrounds meant we all brought different things to the project.”

“It was really interesting to learn all about the business, particularly its focus on sustainability which we incorporated into our business idea. I enjoyed working on the business plan with the team the most and it was great to have the opportunity to share it with the Renishaw sustainability team at the end of the week. I got loads out of the week of work experience and it has helped me decide that I would like a Business apprenticeship after I finish school,” concluded Hawes.

Renishaw offers a range of commercial apprenticeship and graduate scheme opportunities, which give students from any background the opportunity to develop their skills and pursue a career in different areas of engineering. By offering work experience as a part of its education programme, Renishaw hopes to encourage more students to explore these opportunities.

For further information on Renishaw's STEM outreach work, visit www.renishaw.com/education-outreach.

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