They have donned business suits and forgone their summer holidays to undertake six week internships.
Luton-based chartered accountants Keens Shay Keen, Spire Hospital in Harpenden, Luton Primary Care Trust, Luton & Dunstable Hospital, Hewitts Association and University of Bedfordshire are among the organisations giving students on the college’s Career Academy programme the opportunity to demonstrate the skills and knowledge they have learned in the classroom.
Salma Begum is spending her internship at the University of Bedfordshire’s Putteridge Bury campus. She said: “It will be a great opportunity to see what working life is really like and I hope the placement will help me get ahead in my future career.”
Wayne Large of Spire Hospital in Harpenden is pictured with student Dannie Brooks. Mr Large said: "We are happy to be involved it is useful for us as an organisation to have these internships as well as benefiting the student.”
Luton Sixth Form College has run the pioneering two-year course, equivalent to three A-levels, for two years. The programme of study is complemented by one-to-one mentoring with employee volunteers and regular workshops hosted by business partners. A total 95% of Career Academies graduates nationally progress on to higher education or into a job with an equivalent level of training.
Business teacher and programme co-ordinator Kathy Baugh said: “We want to thank our business partners for their generous cooperation, particularly in such a tough economic climate. It is through their support that our students have the opportunity to get a real and meaningful experience of a professional work environment.
“We hope that the internships will have an aspirational effect on our students, giving them a sense of the range of careers out there and the confidence to pursue their interests and passions. In the past, students have commented on how internships have changed their future outlook and several have been invited back by their host company the following year.”
