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On Tuesday 15th January 15 students from Loudwater Combined School embarked on an exciting World of Work experience at O’Neill and Brennan.The students began their day by jumping on board the coach to Potters Bar, Hertfordshire where the O’Niell and Brennan HQ is based. Upon arrival we were greeted by our host Lianne before being escorted to the board room for introductions.
Once settled in the board room the students were given an introduction to the Construction Recruitment and Site Logistics organisation of O’Niell and Brennan. The students were particularly interested in the difference between what are known as ‘Blue collar’ and ‘White collar’ jobs within the organisation.
After the students all had a clear understanding of the organisation, they were kindly given a tour of the office and given a talk about the different departments that operate there. We then returned to the board room where the students took part in a Speed Networking activity with some of their employees. Some of which included employees from Marketing, Accounts and HR. The students all articulated themselves well and asked some great questions.
Following a short break of juice and biscuits the students took part in a teamwork activity of constructing a tower out of newspaper. They had to plan as a team how their structure would work and then had 20 minutes to build the tallest tower. Many of them showed some excellent teamwork and leadership skills within this activity. They then gained points for the most ingenious design and for the tallest free standing structure.
After a delicious lunch, the students were then divided into groups of three and were delegated a role play task in which they were to take turn as an account holder or a business owner. The account holder then had to try and sell the product of O’Neill and Brennan to the business owner. It was quite clear to see which students might make excellent sales men/women in the future! This activity gave them a taste of what it might be like to be a business man/woman and how you may need to present yourself as a professional.
We spent the final amount of time reflecting on the Talents they had used and the students had the opportunity to share with each other what they had learnt. Here are some of the students’ thoughts on the day:
“I learnt that you need to have confidence when talking on the telephone or trying to sell something.”
“I learnt that there as lots of different teams that make up an organisation.”
“I learnt that good communication is essential if you want to do well at your job.”
“I learnt a work day is long, you have to work from 8.30am – 5pm!”
A massive thank you to Lianne and her team for such a great introduction to the World of Work. The students all had a fabulous day with you at O’Neill and Brennan.
Our World of Work days are an integral part of our Yes Futures programmes.
To find out more about the programmes and how we can support your students, please contact Sophie Bartlett: sophie@yesfutures.org
If you are a business that would like to hear more about how to get involved in our World of Work opportunities please contact info@yesfutures.org