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- Work Experience Story - S I Pumps
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Work Experience Story - S I Pumps
SI Pumps Ltd is an Oxfordshire-based company which deals with the sales, distribution, servicing and installing of various types of pumping equipment. Our customer base includes Oxfordshire County Council, The University of Oxford and Thames Valley Police. The team comprises Management, Engineers and Office Staff.
We have been involved in offering work experience placements to students for several years now. OEBP contacted in the first instance to ask if we were able to assist and it continued from there. We take on one or two students twice a year for one or two weeks. We offer experience in administrative functions, providing some understanding of book-keeping and accounts and we try to incorporate as many useful skills as possible so that the student can take these forward regardless of their chosen career path.
The first piece of advice we give to any student is that if they end up liking or disliking anything they do during their time with us, then the placement has worked in one way or another. We do not give any student anything to do that we would not do ourselves. Their experience starts as soon as they join us. We encourage them to complete their work experience diary each day, and give them examples of the work they have completed to take away at the end of their placement. We also offer a reference as an incentive to take with them, if the placement is a success. We have recently provided two references to work experience students to support applications for part-time employment.
We have received wonderful feed from students and schools, and we keep all their thank you cars and messages. It is very gratifying, as an employer, to see apprehensive students come to use and, after a short time, watch them grow in confidence.
On a personal note, I loved my work experience placement when I was 15 and I believe this has enabled me to make sure students enjoy their time with us, as well as learning and gaining confidence. As I point out to them individually – whatever they end up doing career-wise, many of the skills they learn during work experience will be of use in the future – I call them ‘life skills’!
Karin Brown, S I Pumps Ltd