Students from across City of Bristol College were presented with the opportunity to hear from a range of industry professionals during our annual World of Work Festival.
We partnered up with My Future, My Choice (MFMC) once again to host more than 30 employers across our five main Centres to speak to students about their experiences breaking into their industry, their key learnings and where they are now.
Our Industry Placement Team worked with MFMC’s Director Polly Barnes, as well as a selection of students from across the College, to organise the three-week event.
This year’s plans took a different turn, with the students sitting in the interviewer’s chair and posing questions to the speaker as well as taking questions from the audience.
The aim of the World of Work event is to develop the students’ thinking about their next steps as well as what they need to do to make their CV’s more appealing in their chosen industries.
The programme was varied and featured 38 guest speakers who shared their career journeys with the students and some members of staff.
Speakers included BBC Points West’s Ali Vowles, local photographer Nick Smith, Babcock International engineer Katie Smyth, Business West’s Project Manager Matt Tudge and many more.
Another speaker was Commercial Director Georgina Lillington from the Vistry Group – the headline sponsor at our new Advanced Construction Skills Centre.
Vistry are a valued employer partner and a mainstay of the South West’s construction industry. Georgia spoke about the career paths students can pursue within construction and how the future of the industry looks in our post-pandemic world.
This is one of many events Vistry have been involved in, having attended and appeared on the panel of our Construction Question Time in the past.
Speaking about the event, Industry Placement Manager Amy Archer said: “The event was a great opportunity for students to network with employers from different industries relevant to their study programme or career aspirations. Students have really developed in confidence, hosting Q&A sessions, taking the lead on the event and making it their own and setting up Linkedin profiles to develop their network of employers within the industry. Polly Barnes and the students worked amazingly to organise a range of guest speakers across the three weeks, while the students who attended the sessions really valued the opportunity to listen and gain inspiration from the speakers. Some of the speakers have offered to host a week’s work placement to enhance the value further.”
The videos from the event will soon be made available to all students.