Reuben has now come to the end of his Management and Administration course at Chelmsford College and Essex County Council, but before moving onto his next opportunity, we spoke with Reuben to get his final thoughts and overall experience of the T Level programme:
What attracted you to this programme?
“As I would be working predominantly in the resourcing team, I knew I would be working with people who had great customer service skills, and new knew how to deal with people. I thought this would give me the opportunity to learn from their mannerisms and improve my own people skills. As well as this I thought it would helpful when applying to specific courses at university as the work experience with administration and managing projects would help me in my own application.”
What does your average day/did your average day look like?
“My average day at ECC was get to the office for 9:30, check and reply to emails which had mounted as I was only in once a week. Then whoever I was working with for that day I would catch up with them and be given any work for that day. For example, one morning I was working with a colleague from the Talent Attraction team, who helped me set up my LinkedIn account and showed me how it would help me in my future work.
I was then asked to film a promotional video for T-Levels which would be shown to people who would be considering the course. I enjoyed this very much as it improved my ability to do filming and public speaking.”
I think the biggest achievement was presenting to various staff a project I had been working on regarding retention rates at ECC, when I had originally started at ECC I don’t think I would have had the confidence.
Reuben, T Level Student
What’s been your biggest achievement during your placement?
“There have been many things, I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do while at ECC. I think the biggest achievement was presenting to various staff a project I had been working on regarding retention rates at ECC, when I had originally started at ECC I don’t think I would have had the confidence to speak in front of these people whilst getting my point across, so personally it showed how much I had progressed since I began working there.”
Where has, or where do you hope your placement will take you?
“University! After the experience of working at ECC, I decided I want to further my studies with a management degree, and I believe longer term I enjoy the idea of working in London, particularly in a role where I can help to train people to improve their own confidence and skills. I think the placement has given me an idea of how I work best and what I need to do in order to get the most efficient work out of myself.”
What advice would you give to someone considering a placement within ECC?
“Say yes to every opportunity that is offered to you whilst at ECC, whether that is creating a LinkedIn profile, or being interviewed about what your course/work experience is like as well as administration tasks, it all counts for something and the work you will be doing is improving various skills which are applicable if you stay on at ECC or move elsewhere.
As well as this if there is something that you are interested in and want to work on, tell them as more often than not you’ll be able to do it so you should make the most of your time here.”
Interested in doing a T Level course? Your local college may be able to support you. Our Entry to Work team may also be able to help also, you can get in touch with our award-winning team by email at work.placements@essex.gov.uk
We’ve shared a number of other T Level blogs too – you can view these on our blogs page.
Our Entry to Work team have their own page, you can see this here.
