West Berkshire Council welcomes T-Level students

Last month, four T-Level students stepped into the shoes of Council officers for three weeks to experience life at West Berkshire Council.

James, Max, Bruno and Josh came from Kennet School and worked across the Council in areas such as Health and Safety, Emergency Planning, Communications, Customer Services and Human Resources. Carry on reading to hear what they thought about their time with us.

James:

This work experience was one of the best places I could have gone to due to the wide variety of job roles they cover. This gave me more experience as I was not stuck in just one section of work. We gave a presentation to Nigel (CEO of West Berkshire Council), giving him our ideas on what we think could change from a younger person’s view. We also did many other presentations throughout the three weeks. In our presentation with Nigel, we shared a variety of ideas that we would not have originally thought of, which was useful. This made us all feel more motivated as we felt valued and trusted within the workplace, especially when the CEO gives you personal recognition and good advice. After we finished our presentation, we asked Nigel a few questions. He covered a wide range of topics, from his career growth and how he enjoys his work, to more Council-related aspects, such as where the company is heading in the future and some of the history of the Council before we joined.

Furthermore, learning about the Council and gaining a better understanding also showed me more about the world of work and how competitive it really is. Overall, this experience was amazing as it benefited all of us in the ways it needed to. It also gave us valuable information that we will be able to adapt to our daily lives. Moreover, it benefited our career development as the advice and life skills he shared with us will help us to succeed early on in our careers. After the meeting, we had time to reflect on how everything went, how our work was, and take time to accept praise, but also realise points that could be developed.

Max:

My experience at West Berkshire Council has been brilliant. I have really enjoyed every part of what we have done, and everything has been very interesting. Something that made my experience so positive was how nice the people I have worked with have been. They have all been understanding, inclusive, and really nice. In my opinion, the work environment is very positive and healthy; I have not experienced any negativity during my time here. Another aspect that I thought was very good was the fact that every department we worked with was course-specific, so everything we have been doing has been relevant to our course and very helpful for my future in business. I would also like to say that Charlotte and Melissa have been so nice and made the whole experience stress-free and enjoyable.

One of my highlights from my three weeks was being given the opportunity to interview the CEO of the Council, Nigel Lynn. It was really interesting and overall, a great experience, and I’m very pleased that I had the chance to participate in that. Another big positive was that we were never looked down upon because we are students. Everybody talked to us like we were adults and treated us like adults, which I think was really good. To conclude, I have loved my work experience at West Berkshire Council. It has been a great experience for me, and I’m really glad I got the opportunity to come and work at the Council.

Bruno:

At the beginning of my placement, I had little to no idea of what the Council actually does. I was under the impression that the Council primarily and solely responded to complaints about problems and issues that citizens of the district saw in their homes (e.g., missing recycling bags) or around their city and town (e.g., missing road signs or broken streetlamps). However, as my placement progressed, I was shown that the Council does a lot more than I, and most people, thought they do.

I have learned that the Council has several departments and teams specialized in different problems that occur both inside and outside the business. For example, the Emergency Planning team is a group of people that works with several different councils but is primarily based in West Berkshire Council. They are tasked with planning for potential emergencies that can and may happen around the district, such as forest/residential fires, flooding, power outages, and traffic accidents. They also inform people on what to do in case of emergencies, such as putting together a grab bag with essential materials and supplies like passports, flashlights, special medications, battery packs etc., or advising them to get themselves or their family members on a priority emergency registry if they have any special conditions or characteristics that put them at more risk in cases of emergency, such as pregnancy, being elderly, disabled, paralysed, or electricity-dependent.

In addition to various other teams like Communications and its sub-team of social media, and other teams like Wellbeing, Health and Safety (in HR), and Customer Services, having the opportunity to visit and do projects for these teams allowed us to both get a better understanding of the Council and its services, as well as the general roles of departments and specific employees in the business. Additionally, we learned how it feels to work in an office-based business and what you typically find in them, such as kitchens, break rooms, and staff exits.

We created and presented a PowerPoint presentation to Nigel Lynn about ways to make the Council more appealing to the younger generation by suggesting improvements and things to add to the business, such as special events, game rooms, specific spaces for interacting with others, and quiet and alone time. After asking questions about his interests, ambitions, and his career/life, we noted his answers.

Josh:

Before my placement, I had barely any idea what the Council did and thought that they were very boring. As soon as I started this placement, I was enlightened about the workforce at West Berkshire Council and the many different roles of employees and what they do.

At the start of the work placement, I was introduced to two lovely women named Charlotte and Melissa, who have been showing us parts of the business we didn’t know of before. They have been a great help throughout the three weeks and have been there all the time if we had any uncertainties.

In my West Berkshire Council work experience, I have experienced multiple departments of the workplace, including Customer Service, Human Resources, Communications, Health and Safety, and Wellbeing, to name a few.

In the second week, we got to experience a meeting with the emergency planning team, who explained what they do: they provide emergency information, assist with business continuity, respond to emergencies, and provide support during emergencies.

We had a meeting with Nigel Lynn, the Chief Executive Officer of West Berkshire Council, where we gave him a presentation of our experience over the last three weeks. Nigel then enlightened us about the many services that West Berkshire Council provides—there are more than you think! They handle services like bus transportation, rubbish collection, planning and building controls, libraries, and even leisure centres.

If this sort of experience would interest you, or someone you know, find out more here: https://jobs.westberks.gov.uk/work-experience-application