Member Article

Students’ Sneak Peek into World of Work

Students from across Sunderland have been given a special, behind-the-scenes look at one of the North East’s busiest industries.

Over the course of five days more than 80 young people were taken on a tour of Northumbrian Water’s County Durham headquarters and offered an insight into life in the utilities sector.

This included a look at every aspect of the organisation, from asset planning, procurement and insurance to network maintenance, human resources and health and safety

The visits, organised as part of Work Discovery Sunderland, also offered the chance for students to discuss various career opportunities and learn more about making a good impression at interview.

Jane Morland, Partnerships Assistant Manager at Northumbrian Water, said: “The purpose of these visits was to give young people a chance to see how different utilities work together and to discover more about the wide range of career opportunities available across the sector by using Northumbrian Water as an example.

“The students were amazed at the diverse range of roles required to get water to and from their homes and it was fantastic to see them so engaged and inquisitive during their visit. I hope the entire Work Discovery Sunderland programme proves to be equally successful.”

The Utilities Sector Days at Northumbrian Water was the first in a series of events being held as part of Work Discovery Sunderland - a new extension of the well-established Work Discovery Week.

The original initiative, which launched in 2013, was designed to forge stronger relationships between schools and the business community and now involves more than 1000 students each year.

The week of activities, including business challenges, workshops and a careers fair, is supported annually by many of the region’s biggest employers, including SAFC, Nissan, Gentoo, Sunderland University, Sunderland College and Arriva.

Work Discovery Sunderland, which has been designed to extend the concept beyond one week a year, will now run a series of one day events, each offering young people a more in-depth look at a particular industry.

Those being planned to follow the Utilities Sector Day at Northumbrian Water include health, hospitality, software, creative industries, retail and advanced manufacturing and engineering – all led by the city’s top companies.

Gary Hutchinson, co-chair of the Sunderland’s Economic Leadership Board Business Schools Task Group which is running the initiative said: “Work Discovery Week has already delivered huge benefits for young people and the wide range of businesses involved.

“Work Discovery Sunderland has been designed to extend this positive impact throughout the year and to get more young people thinking about the wide range of opportunities that are open to them, especially in industries they may not have considered before.”

. Work Discovery Week will return from June 29 to July 3 2015. For more information about this or Work Discovery Sunderland’s sector days search for WDWSunderland on Facebook or Twitter.

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