LondonEnergy’s Fifth Pathfinder Work Experience Week Is A Success!
Another fantastic work experience week was completed last week at LondonEnergy, as they welcomed 10 Harris Academy Tottenham (HATO) students to their EcoPark for the milestone fifth Pathfinder Programme.
This represents an exciting opportunity for the young people involved, who now all have a much greater understanding of the workplace and the variety of opportunities at a company like LondonEnergy.
It takes our overall impact figures with our partnership with LondonEnergy up to:
- 45 students supported
- 200+ hours of mentoring provided
- 1000+ hours of workplace experience gained
LondonEnergy’s Pathfinder Programme
Made up of 4 mentoring sessions wrapped around the work experience week, the Pathfinder Programme is all about ensuring young people have meaningful access to the workplace, and opportunities to learn, grow and feel inspired whilst they do so.
Whilst young people are required to undertake work experience in year 12, this can often be a daunting and overwhelming task, and many young people do not always get the full experience because of nerves, uncertainty or unsuitability of the work experience.
This is where the mentoring element of our programmes comes into play. Undergoing mentoring sessions allows the students to get a more thorough understanding of the business before attending. They also feel instilled with a greater sense of early confidence, thanks to the fact they already have a familiar face and confidante at their side when they visit the office.
The mentoring element of the programme also helps young people to maximise the experience, giving them opportunities to work with their mentor 1-2-1 on tasks such as reviewing their CV, making the experience feel tailored to them. The ultimate goal of the 1-2-1 mentoring sessions is to give the young people access to professionals like never before, utilising their guidance in a way that they otherwise may not have had the opportunity to do.
This year’s work experience week
The team at LondonEnergy curated a mixture of activities for the HATO students, designed to give them a thorough understanding of the workplace and a range of job roles and functions.
With mentors hailing from HR, Waste, Operations, Data Analysis and Surveying departments, the students were in contact with a wide array of talent at LondonEnergy.
Early feedback from the students shows how much of an impact the programme has had on them so far, with students sharing:
“My mentor helped me by giving me insight and confidence when it comes to presentations and having multiple career paths.”
“I understand what it's like in the daily life of someone working in legal & procurement now”.
“The programme has helped me to see how many options there is for the future and there isn’t just university as an option.”
Taking a step back and viewing the experience from the students’ shoes, this was a one-of-a-kind opportunity to experience a large-scale operation in a state-of-the-art facility, in an area that will increasingly come into focus over the coming years (sustainability).
Getting firsthand access to an environment like this is certainly going to be hugely beneficial and the benefits will be reaped for many years, as the students go on to explore their early careers.
We’re very proud to be supporting LondonEnergy as they continue to make a difference to the lives of local students through meaningful opportunities like this.
We hope that the lessons learned and experiences are valuable for the students for years to come. A huge thank you for all of the staff and mentors at LondonEnergy for putting on another fabulous week for this year’s cohort!
