Students from Moor Park High School in Preston have been given a unique insight into the internal workings of the North West’s water company.
More than 30 business studies students, in year 12, visited United Utilities’ head office at Lingley Mere in Warrington to find out about the career opportunities on offer at the company including graduate positions and apprenticeships.
The visit was organised to complement a guest careers lesson previously given to the class by United Utilities’ Head of Wholesale Finance, Gary Baron.
During his lesson Gary told pupils about United Utilities, about his own career and explained the different pathways that could be taken towards roles in different departments. He also lead group activities designed to help pupils to work in a team, solve problems, communicate with confidence and approach tasks creatively.
Gary said: “As an employer, Teach First’s Workplace initiative helps us meet young people to find out what interests and motivates them while at the same time giving us the opportunity to showcase the varied careers we offer.
“It helps pupils to make ambitious, informed choices about their post-school direction,” he added.
Sixth Form learning mentor at Moor Park High School, Boss Seva, said: “The visit to United Utilities was enlightening. To hear positive reviews from students who had no clear direction on what career path to pursue before the session, highlights why these visits are essential for the development of our young people.
“United Utilities delivered informative and interactive activities throughout the day that I believe have better prepared my students for the world of work. I would highly recommend this visit to other educational institutions.”
Ruby Clark, partnership executive at Teach First, commented: “It was a really fun day interacting with the students, and it really brings home the work that we do. At the end of the day, one of the teachers at the school said how the kids really loved the session and it was going to really support them on their career decisions going forward. It just goes to show how much of an impact one session like that can have on students.”
Kerry Sullivan, United Utilities’ training needs specialist, said: “I enjoyed being able to talk to the students about my personal experience of being an apprentice and working at United Utilities. I think it really helped them visualise what working life may be like when choosing their own career paths. The group interactions from the activities we ran were great, each and every student added value to the debates which was wonderful to see and hear.”
