College launches Job Shop to help students secure employment
Two new facilities designed to help Hereward College students secure employment have been officially launched.
The Hereward Job Shop is a new dedicated space for learners to find out about job opportunities and prepare for interviews, using the latest technology including Bodyswaps VR headsets and the Xello interactive careers advice system.
It features a digital screen promoting live job vacancies, tablets on adjustable pods where students can update their Xello profiles and a training room where virtual job interviews can be conducted.
Another significant investment is the SES Manufacturing workshop which recreates the company’s Prism offsite manufacturing facility in Coventry to help prepare students for work placements and employment in the engineering sector.
The ‘mini Prism’ workshop was built in close collaboration with SES Manufacturing and has been joined by a fully immersive suite which can be set up to offer a 3D view of the Prism factory.
Guests from employer partners including SES Manufacturing and Severn Trent were joined by careers leads from several local schools, representatives from Coventry University and local special schools, college governors, staff and students for a launch event at the college’s Tile Hill campus.
It included demonstrations of the Bodyswaps VR headset in a virtual job interview scenario and the Xello interactive careers advice system in the media suite, as well as a tour of the Job Shop, engineering workshop and immersive suite.
The college has also launched a new awards scheme for students which recognises progress in employability training with five stages from bronze to platinum. The inaugural Employability Awards ceremony saw 15 students receive their bronze awards in front of the guests.
Paul Cook, CEO and Principal of Hereward College, said: “It was a superb event and I was delighted to see so many employer and education partners attend to find out about the significant investment we are making in facilities and equipment to help our learners secure employment.
“The new Hereward Job Shop is a dedicated space where our students can develop the employability skills they need to enter the jobs market, using the latest technology to create their online CV and practice their interview technique.
“Meanwhile the engineering workshop and immersive suite in different ways both recreate the workplace – both virtually and physically – to help prepare learners for internship placements and future employment.
“We are extremely grateful for the support and investment in our students SES Manufacturing has made and we look forward to a continued successful partnership.”
Thanks to a large number of excellent employer partnerships in various industry sectors developed over the past decade, Hereward College enjoys a high level of success in helping students with a wide range of learning disabilities secure paid work.
Last year 79 per cent of Hereward learners with employment as a key objective secured paid or voluntary employment on completion of their course. The national average for people with learning disabilities is around five per cent.
At its last Ofsted inspection the college was rated as ‘Outstanding’ for High Needs provision and ‘Strong’ for supporting the skills development of the community – also the highest possible rating.
