Part of the Etc.
Our students go on to a variety of different destinations and career paths after they finish at SRC Bede Sixth Form. Emily, a former student of Ian Ramsey CE Academy, originally had intentions of going on to university to further her education, but when she was offered a degree apprenticeship at PD Ports she saw the opportunity to take a different route into her future career.
Emily’s journey to this point began with her experience at the Tees Valley Logistics Academy. Through the Academy she was able to get a four-week internship at PD Ports and gain an insight into what working in the industry is like. Her internship was actually adjusted slightly from her original placement to more of an engineering-focused one, when Jim French, Chairman of the Logistics Academy, found out she was more interested in that area.
Emily said: “The four-week internship changed my mind about what type of engineering I wanted to do – I’d previously been totally set on mechanical engineering until I learnt more about things like material science.” During her experience shadowing the Group Civil Engineering Manager she learnt about report writing, surveying, conducting inspections, and health and safety procedures, and how civil engineering is directly linked and woven into all of those aspects of the logistics industry.
Emily thinks the Logistics Academy had a great positive impact on her confidence as well. Delivered by Stockton Riverside College, working with PD Ports, SRC Bede Sixth Form, NETA Training Group and Career Ready, the Logistics Academy aims to raise young people’s awareness of the industry.
Working closely with a variety of industry employers, those students selected are given the opportunity to undertake master classes, site visits, work with a mentor and a placement, all alongside their full-time courses.
Emily said the organised visits to sites and places like KP Snacks and Bulkhaul, and talks from people working in different areas of logistics, like Cleveland Police, showed her the variety of jobs in the sector, and how different types of people can forge a career in the industry.
Her apprenticeship starts in just a couple of weeks and she’s understandably a bit nervous. In fact, she was so nervous to begin with and felt so overwhelmed that she nearly turned the opportunity down. After spending some time talking it through with her dad, and Alice and Patrick at Bede, she started to feel less overwhelmed. She credits Alice, the Careers Co-ordinator, with really helping her put it all into perspective. “There’s always someone to talk to for support at Bede,” she said. Emily puts that down to the fact that the sixth form college is small, she said the teachers and support staff really get to know you well and can therefore offer the best advice for each individual.
Emily also said that the subjects and courses at Bede are designed by the tutors to give students transferrable skills that they can go on to use in the real world. For instance, she feels that she was able to really develop her teamwork skills, especially in Music Tech, working in a group to produce a graded project together.
“Bede is a really tight-knit community where no one is left out, and everyone speaks. It’s a really nice place to go – I felt like I was surrounded by like-minded people,” she said.
When asked what advice she would give other people considering a similar career to her, she said: “Don’t focus all your attention on university as the only option – think about opportunities like apprenticeships as they’re invaluable for real-world experience and skills. Girls in particular should not be intimidated – the stigma that engineering is a “man’s world” is not true, all the men I’ve met would like to see more women in the industry.”
Emily plans to help with the Logistics Academy herself in the future, and wants to give other young people the experience and opportunities she’s benefited from. We can’t wait to see how she gets on with her apprenticeship, and look forward to catching up with her in the future!
Are you interested in our courses? Click the links below for more information about what Emily studied at SRC Bede:
“Don’t focus all your attention on university as the only option"
Emily’s journey to this point began with her experience at the Tees Valley Logistics Academy. Through the Academy she was able to get a four-week internship at PD Ports and gain an insight into what working in the industry is like. Her internship was actually adjusted slightly from her original placement to more of an engineering-focused one, when Jim French, Chairman of the Logistics Academy, found out she was more interested in that area.
Emily said: “The four-week internship changed my mind about what type of engineering I wanted to do – I’d previously been totally set on mechanical engineering until I learnt more about things like material science.” During her experience shadowing the Group Civil Engineering Manager she learnt about report writing, surveying, conducting inspections, and health and safety procedures, and how civil engineering is directly linked and woven into all of those aspects of the logistics industry.
Emily thinks the Logistics Academy had a great positive impact on her confidence as well. Delivered by Stockton Riverside College, working with PD Ports, SRC Bede Sixth Form, NETA Training Group and Career Ready, the Logistics Academy aims to raise young people’s awareness of the industry.Working closely with a variety of industry employers, those students selected are given the opportunity to undertake master classes, site visits, work with a mentor and a placement, all alongside their full-time courses.
Emily said the organised visits to sites and places like KP Snacks and Bulkhaul, and talks from people working in different areas of logistics, like Cleveland Police, showed her the variety of jobs in the sector, and how different types of people can forge a career in the industry.
Her apprenticeship starts in just a couple of weeks and she’s understandably a bit nervous. In fact, she was so nervous to begin with and felt so overwhelmed that she nearly turned the opportunity down. After spending some time talking it through with her dad, and Alice and Patrick at Bede, she started to feel less overwhelmed. She credits Alice, the Careers Co-ordinator, with really helping her put it all into perspective. “There’s always someone to talk to for support at Bede,” she said. Emily puts that down to the fact that the sixth form college is small, she said the teachers and support staff really get to know you well and can therefore offer the best advice for each individual.
Emily also said that the subjects and courses at Bede are designed by the tutors to give students transferrable skills that they can go on to use in the real world. For instance, she feels that she was able to really develop her teamwork skills, especially in Music Tech, working in a group to produce a graded project together.
“Bede is a really tight-knit community where no one is left out, and everyone speaks. It’s a really nice place to go – I felt like I was surrounded by like-minded people,” she said.
When asked what advice she would give other people considering a similar career to her, she said: “Don’t focus all your attention on university as the only option – think about opportunities like apprenticeships as they’re invaluable for real-world experience and skills. Girls in particular should not be intimidated – the stigma that engineering is a “man’s world” is not true, all the men I’ve met would like to see more women in the industry.”
Emily plans to help with the Logistics Academy herself in the future, and wants to give other young people the experience and opportunities she’s benefited from. We can’t wait to see how she gets on with her apprenticeship, and look forward to catching up with her in the future!
Are you interested in our courses? Click the links below for more information about what Emily studied at SRC Bede:
