Dacorum businesses teach Ashlyns School pupils how to land a job

More than 200 Year 10 pupils from a Berkhamsted school were given advice on how to land a job at a special event on Friday.

The 240 students from Ashlyns School took part in an Employability Skills event on February 10 organised and run by Connect Dacorum.

Groups of pupils were given a helping hand by a local business or charity with CV writing and interview skills.

The event was interactive for the pupils – interviewing their facilitators before moving on to looking in more detail at their own CVs and giving advice. The second half concentrated on interview skills with mock interviews and also a fun “speed interviewing” game.

The pupils came away with lot of helpful feedback and advice directly from employers about what they look for in a CV, covering letter and throughout the interview process.

Cindy Withey, Manager of Connect Dacorum praised the pupils and facilitators for a great day “Ashlyns School will be very proud of their Year 10’s who were engaged in the session. It’s a pleasure for Connect Dacorum to organise these events as it benefits the pupils but is also very rewarding for our facilitators to help shape the future workforce”.

The pupils also completed a feedback sheet at the end of the day. One wrote “When I go to a job interview I will know to wear smart clothes, sit up straight and give detailed answers. I also will practise answers before”.

Another said “I have learnt how to present myself in an interview and what qualities an interviewer is looking for.”

“This was a fantastic experience for our students to engage with local employers and to learn key employability skills” said Becky Lambert, Careers Leader, Ashlyns School.

The facilitators came from a wide variety of backgrounds and businesses, all willing to give up their time to help shape the future generation and pass on valuable advice.

Mark Freer from Heads Up and Freer said: "It's always a great experience to work with teenagers, understand some of the career challenges they have and have a positive impact - giving them ideas, tools and confidence to move forward."

If there are any businesses who would like their staff to be involved and become a facilitator for these events in future please contact Cindy Withey at Connect Dacorum on [email protected]

The full list of facilitators were: Anthony Wright Always Wright Mortgages; Nadia Van Woerkom Osborne; Neal Allison Osbornes; Katie Leithboro Step2Skills; Paul Miller Fairstone; Parul Dix Swan Youth Project; Kendra Jeffries Rayden Solicitors; Anisha Patel Rayden Solicitors; Erika Iannelli Tring Financial; Fraser Willcox Dacorum Borough Council; Elena Lewendon Frogmore Paper Mill; Mark Freer Heads Up and Freer; Tim Howlings Brasier Freeth; Paul Yearley.