Career College student aces work placement at the Lawn Tennis Association

A motivated IT student from Barking & Dagenham College’s Career College landed a first class work experience placement last week after impressing judges on a special digital project.

Bhushita Jolly (18) took part in a live project set up by the Career Colleges Trust, in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Comic Relief at which the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) was part of the judging panel. The brief was to develop a solution within the digital space to engage even more 16-24 year olds with Comic Relief and secure their future support. 

At the final presentation of the project last month, Bhushita was awarded a prize for resilience, motivation and communication skills. She then took the initiative to speak to the judge from theLTAand enquire about possible placements with digital marketing.

As a result, Bhushita was offered two days of work experience at the LTA. She learnt about the many roles within the communications team and got first-hand experience of how a busy marketing department operates.

 Barking & Dagenham student Bhushita says:

 “It was such a brilliant experience and I’ve learnt so much. My interest is in digital marketing but I’ve realised that there are many other possibilities within communications, which is really exciting.

“My plan now is to finish my Level 3 IT course and then either do an apprenticeship or go to university. This placement has taught me so much about how the workplace operates and I feel much more prepared and confident about moving on from college when the time comes.

“I have also realised the importance of networking and taking advantage of the opportunities that come your way. I am so pleased I plucked up the courage to ask the LTA about a placement!”

Head of PR at the LTA, Lauren Best, added:

“It is vital for young people to understand industry and gain an idea of the direction they want to head in after college/university. At the LTA we are always looking at ways we can support and motivate young people into our sport and understand the vital work we do in this area. Whether that is playing, watching, taking part or even looking for a career at all levels of tennis, as we have so many different and exciting roles available.

“The digital market is changing rapidly so young people need to be adaptable, with good communication skills. Bhushita has both of these attributes and she really impressed me at both the AWS/Comic Relief project final and during her placement.

“Bushita’s dogged determination demonstrates that if you don’t ask, you don’t get and I would encourage all young people to seek as much work experience as they can, to further develop their skills for what is a competitive business climate.”

The Career Colleges Trust led the digital project with AWS and Comic Relief – the second project to be set up for digital Career College students. The Trust’s Digital Director, Julia Von Klonowski, said:

“Much of the work we do is about showing young people the many exciting jobs and careers on offer to them and then helping them to develop the business skills necessary. Work placements are crucial to this and can really help students decide on the direction in which they want to travel.

“We are really grateful to AWS, Comic Relief and, of course, the LTA for providing such excellent opportunities for our Career College students to experience life in industry and learn key employability skills. This benefits businesses greatly in the long run when they come to recruit and indeed, the economy as a whole.”

ENDS

 For more information about the AWS / Comic Relief project, please visit: http://careercolleges.org.uk/2018/03/26/career-college-students-showcase-digital-talent-employer-led-project/