Does anyone remember their work experience horror stories, shredding in a corner and making cups of tea?
This wasn't the case for the young people who attended work experience placements via #digitalfutures and #digitalher in July.
These experiences have empowered young people to make decisions about their future careers by getting hands-on experience. Students have been working with different teams to grow their technical skills, learning what working in a tech role is really all about and gaining vital skills for that come with first-hand experience of the working world.
What have these students learned?
Everything from how to navigate public transport for the daily commute to using new coding language, tech terms, Slack channels and Trello boards. The most important thing is they've all had the chance to experience the world of work and to learn new things. We'll be sharing the experience of students and businesses over the next few weeks to give you a taste of what it's really like to host a placement.
One week with...
Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust work with digital systems to liaise with clinicians and build infrastructures and interfaces between trusts. In the organisations, there are project management teams, a service desk and team team, a trainer team and an Electroniic Patient Record (EPR) team who look after the main computer application that records the patient's journey. They hosted Ummama and Tia, Year 10 students from Manchester, for a week in July. We caught up with the students on the last day of their placement to find out what they've learned from working with the different teams in a fast-paced digital environment.
What have you been up to this week?
Both: We've been working with different teams and observed different people working. We've worked with the project team, tested the website, worked with the Electronic Patient Records team visited the data centre and sat with the tech team listening to them solving problems live as they come through on the phone.
What's been the most exciting part of the week?
Both: visiting the data centre in the main hospital.
What made you want to do work experience at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust?
Ummama I’ve always been interested in medicine and ICT so this was a perfect opportunity for me.
Tia: I wanted to find out more about a job in ICT.
What did you enjoy the most about your work experience week?
Ummama: liked the ICT team the most, timetable and structuring things for the hospital.
Tia: I liked all of the learning about the ICT side of the NHS.
How would you sum up your week?
Ummama: I was nervous at first but the staff were really nice and it felt straight away like I fit in. Once I’m 18, I want to volunteer at a hospital. I’ve learned that the NHS offers more than just opportunities for doctors and nurses and learned how many different careers there in the NHS, outside of medical jobs.
Tia: I didn’t expect to find the week so interesting, informative and enjoyable. My favourite bit has been using code to fix problems with the development team.
We'd like to say a huge thank you to the fantastic Digital Futures Ambassadors at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Team for hosting the girls. If you think this is something you'd like to, please get in touch with natasha@manchesterdigital.com
