Some of you may already know that I am the work experience and joint Enterprise Coordinator at Parmiter’s School as well as Head of Careers. I organise work experience for Year 10, the work shadowing in Year 8 and help Year 12 find work experience too. As Enterprise coordinators Mr Boyce and I run a club every Thursday lunchtime for Years 7, 8 and 9. In the winter months students come up with ideas, enter enterprise competitions and make and decide on things to sell, such as badges, books, Parmiter’s umbrellas which can be purchased on the VLE, and Christmas bulbs. In the spring we start to spend lots of time in our polytunnel, planting vegetables, flowers and herbs to sell to the canteen for the students to eat fresh at lunchtimes. We have recently been planting onions, garlic, radishes, carrots and potatoes.
Enterprise also involves teams of Year 12 students entering the Watford and 3 Rivers Dragon’s Apprentice challenge which runs from October to end of January each year. This year we had two teams of 8 students and 13 teams from local schools entered. They were assigned a business mentor (a Dragon) and a local charity. Teams are given £100 and challenged to “turn £100 into £1,000+”. Last year the Parmiter’s team won the competition, raising a record £3,602 for the Peace Hospice. This year Team Endeavour have raised £5,415 for Playskill, a pre school for toddlers and children with disabilities, an outstanding amount and well done to Olivia and her team. Team 1 in 100 worked equally hard and raised £1,500 for Epilepsy Society. Well done Alex and your team, it is an amazing achievement for both teams and any business would be grateful for the skills these students have shown in the challenge.
My aim is to bridge the gap between Business, Enterprise and Careers, to give students the best opportunities to access quality work experience placements, work shadowing experiences, as well as giving them the opportunity to listen to talks about career opportunities in a variety of sectors. The job market is so competitive and we want Parmiter’s students to be as well equipped as they can be with a quality CV and evidence of those all-important employability skills when they move on from school and university.
In organising careers fairs and other school events as well as work experience I have been fortunate to meet so many experts keen to offer this type of support and I would like to set up a network of contact Parmiter’s students can access for careers advice and/or work experience opportunities. Ex Parmiter’s students and parents have supported my careers fairs and offered placements and I would like to ask if you or your organisation might be able to provide such opportunities too so I can build up a bank of contacts in as wide a variety of business sectors as possible. The easiest way to submit information on any careers information or opportunities that you or your organisation might be able to provide is by emailing me at a.green@parmiters.herts.sch.uk, or posting on this site.
Through some very valuable work experience from a local accountancy firm one sixth former learnt a great deal and was inspired to apply for the school leaver scheme at KPMG. After a rigourous interview process he has been offered a place, following three other Parmiter’s sixth formers to join this scheme.
I will post work experience ideas, jobs and other opportunities here but most of these come from speculative letters sent to contacts I give to students who come to ask me for specific places.
Parmiters Careers 