Published 18 January 2024
As part of the St Bart’s Apprenticeship Programme, once again we proudly partnered with Vodafone to deliver an apprenticeship support masterclass for 45 St Bart’s Sixth Form students at the prestigious Vodafone Headquarters Conference Pavilion. Vodafone managers, employees, graduates and apprentices took students through a ‘mock’ version of an apprenticeship assessment day to prepare students for making strong applications to major companies. Students discovered more about Vodafone’s apprenticeships, learnt about what employers are looking for in applicants, gained personalised feedback on interview technique and participated in a series of Group Tasks specifically designed to put their teamwork, problem solving and presentation skills to the test.
Jake Randall, Vodafone Data & Insights Specialist Apprentice, said: “It was a great experience to once again facilitate a mock assessment day for St Bart’s School with Vodafone, and to see how much we helped some of the visiting students in their preparation for life after further education. As a second-year data analyst apprentice I was very much bucking the trend by pursuing an apprenticeship over the conventional university route. I am on a great scheme here at Vodafone and I have realised all the benefits it can offer. I was really keen to share my experience with other young people and give them the best opportunity to jump on the apprenticeship bandwagon. We’ve built a great mutual relationship with St Bart’s School, with young people’s futures placed firmly at the centre. We look forward to continuing to work with St Bart’s.”
Owen Chetwood, Year 13 St Bart’s student, said: “Visiting Vodafone HQ and learning from brilliant members of the Vodafone team was such a valuable experience and has really motivated me to apply for a Level 6 degree apprenticeship at a top company. The interviews and in-person group assessment activities made clear exactly what an employer is looking for in an apprentice, and hearing the stories from the apprentices themselves was inspiring. I would highly recommend this day to sixth form students next year.”
Mr Wilder, Deputy Head of Sixth Form, said: “We are hugely grateful to Vodafone for sharing their outstanding venue and their knowledge and advice. We are lucky to be the only school in the area to have this close relationship with Vodafone and utilise the invaluable opportunities they provide for our students in their ambitions to secure these competitive placements at major companies across the UK. Our students were outstanding and gained so much from the experience. Last year, we had students who secured Level 6 degree apprenticeships at top companies such as AWE, FMB Engineering and M&S, and we will continue to support students in the apprenticeship programme this year. We have had so much interest from students for this type of initiative and I can announce that we will be repeating this apprenticeship support masterclass day in January 2025 to allow as many sixth form students as possible to participate. It is fantastic when local employers can offer their time in this way to support our young people. We’d love to hear from any other companies who feel they could work with our Apprenticeship programme in any way.”
