7 October 2016

National Work Experience Week: A taste of print

National Work Experience Week takes place from Monday 10^th – Friday 14^th October, which aims to make people aware of the benefits of work experience and highlight the positive impact of work experience for employers as well.

We spoke to some of our members to find out what they have been doing to give young people some real work experience and a taste of print.

Ian Wilton, Managing Director of Oxuniprint in Oxford explained how his company gives those undertaking work experience an insight into working life.

What work experience do you currently offer?

We offer local schools work experience for a week. We try to ensure they are not stuck in one place as they can get bored so we move them around the business. This can be hard sometimes as you can imagine with the machinery and equipment we have, but we have a young person’s risk assessment done which ensures they are supervised at all times. It can sometimes be hard to engage with the schools as they have so much paperwork to get through but we get through it.

How does this work experience benefit the person undertaking it? What skills/knowledge could they expect to gain?

As with most things in life, you get out what you put in. If a person on work experience is interested and willing to listen and learn, then the benefits and knowledge they can gain are endless. We try to ensure the person goes into every department which is very diverse and includes but is not exclusive to administration work, computer work, digital work, operating machinery and delivery – it gives you a good understanding of what working life entails. You will have the chance to understand how organisations work and at the same time you will be developing your own confidence, communication skills and ability to work with others. Your work experience could also make you think about a fresh career path for your future.

Why do you think it is valuable for a student to do work experience in the print industry?

The print industry has an ageing work force and this is mainly due to the fact that young people still see it as a dirty, smelly industry but it is far from that. With the move towards global digitalisation, our industry has become so innovative and dynamic; they would see that they can formulate such a great career path. I did a print apprenticeship and I am now MD…

How would someone doing work experience with you benefit your company?

Anything that helps spread the word about how great the print industry is benefits everyone working in this industry not just my company. Having young people in my business shows everyone that we are thinking about the long-term future and the next generation, not just the here and now. Having energetic people with an open view to how the world communicates today can only complement what we are trying to do here and who knows who will be teaching who?