The Importance of Vocational Visits to Aid Employability in Young People

At Building Self-Belief, one of the many programmes is the ‘Bridging the Gap’ Youth Employability Programme. This runs once a week for 12 weeks and aims to boost the confidence of and prepare young people for work. The programme is focussed on helping young people from areas in the bottom 20% on the governments index of multiple deprivation.

Year 10 Boys Boldon School

Recently, this programme was conducted with year 10 boys from Boldon School. The first few workshops centred around improving wellbeing, looking at topics such as emotional regulation, fostering positive thought patterns, and a reflection on healthy eating, exercise and sleep hygiene. In addition to this, the boys then prepared for their vocational visit by working on goal setting, CV making and considering what makes a good employee.

“I have enjoyed the sessions. I have spoken about my emotions more than I normally would. I enjoyed the visit to Bay Plastics.”

Our Vocational Visit - Bay Plastics

Many of the boys are studying Level 2 Engineering, and out of all of their subjects, this was the area that they felt most interest in in relation to future careers. Consequently, we arranged a visit to Bay Plastics on the Tyne Tunnel Industrial Estate. The visit included a presentation from the CEO, Ben Gilhespy, who gave an excellent overview of the history of the Bay Plastics, the considerations when creating a good place to work, and the multiple opportunities within the company. The boys then were taken on a tour of the factory, having an inside look at the different roles, the variety of products and machinery used, and saw first-hand the importance of health and safety in a practical industry.

Igniting interest

Throughout the visit, and after touring the factory, the boys seemed to become more enthused and expressed greater interest in engineering as they learned more. After getting a real sense of what work could be like, they started with asking the prepared questions but then enthusiastically came up with their own questions to explore their individual interests and career focus. The boys displayed confidence and strong communication skills as they respectfully discussed their ideas for work with Ben. One boy asked for advice on starting his own business, and was very passionate about this. As a result of the visit, one of the boys said “I am still interested in a career in welding”

Exploring possibilities

After the presentation, and from looking around and actively seeing the array of job roles, the boys saw the amount of opportunities that can be found in the industry. Even students who were less interested in the practical aspect of engineering benefitted from the visit. Learning about the jobs behind-the-scenes of a company such as computer programming, marketing and sales was interesting to the boys.

“I learnt that jobs in engineering are not just hands on making things, but there are lots of different jobs.”

Developing confidence

The boys were encouraged as Ben discussed what is important in potential employees. The emphasis on experience, soft skills in communication and a positive attitude to work seemed to show them that they had employable qualities and boosted their confidence. They came away from the trip with the understanding that they could work their way up to their goals, and that their personalities were valued and important.

“I learnt that jobs are not all about grades.”

“I learnt to be nice in interviews, be yourself and be respectable and friendly.”

There was also a benefit in offering the boys a fun activity to finish the trip. Taking the young people out of school was an exciting experience for them. Following the visit to the factory, the boys enjoyed go karting, which was a competitive activity that helped with team building and fostering new friendships. Overall, the boys enjoyed the sessions and working towards the incentive of a fun trip. They also grew in confidence through work on employability, and the trip to Bay Plastics cemented this and showed them their options in an interactive way.

“The group has helped me get to know other people better as I am in a different band to them in school.”

Can we say a huge thank you to Ben Gilhespy for being so enthusiastic and supportive, and for giving up so much of his time. Plus, to Liam Soulsby at Boldon School, who has been incredibly supportive of the boys and us throughout the whole programme.