Melton students complete innovative three-day work experience scheme
Teenagers have attended an innovative new work experience scheme in Melton Mowbray which claims to address the limits of the traditional one-to-one placements.
Melton Building Society funded and hosted the three day cohort programme for 16 Melton Vale Sixth Form (MV16) students, with more than 20 business volunteers giving their time across the week.
The youngsters learned how the world of work actually operates from the people who do it every day, before hosting their own professional networking event for local business leaders.
The programme, delivered by The Business Hub Work Experience CIC at Mutual House, on Leicester Road.
Organisers say the usual one-to-one work placements cannot keep pace with demand, and the young people who miss out most are those without professional family networks to call on.
The cohort model flips that on its head: instead of sending one student to one business, it brings a rotating cast of local professionals to a whole group of students at once.
Over three days the students worked with volunteers from organisations including National Grid, the Leicester Comedy Festival, Melton District Money Advice Centre and a host of local firms, covering everything from personal branding and presentation skills to payslips, credit scores and how AI is reshaping the entry level job market.
Melton Building Society’s funding made the week free to students, families and the school, and its team embraced the programme from top to bottom.
Chief Executive, Simon Taylor joined a careers panel, the financial crime team set students a live campaign brief, and colleagues from finance, project management, mortgages and private banking all gave sessions or panel time.
Chief Customer Officer, Rachel Kolebuk even took students around the building to personally invite colleagues to the finale.
On that final afternoon, the youngsters hosted a professional networking event, having phoned local businesses themselves earlier in the programme to confirm their guests.
Alongside it, they completed The Business Hub Work Experience CIC live tasks for the organisation: writing and scheduling LinkedIn posts, designing volunteer certificates, filming a cohort video and setting up an alumni network that will now connect this group with future cohorts.
The week drew a mix of returning volunteers, some of whom have supported several cohorts and love giving back, and plenty of new faces, several of whom found the programme through LinkedIn and asked to get involved.
Nicola Moss, Founder and Director, The Business Hub Work Experience CIC, commented: "Work experience should not depend on who your parents know.
"Melton Building Society understood that from the very start, and this week simply could not happen without their funding, their building and their people.
"What they have helped create is a community-wide effort: local professionals investing real time in the next generation, and 16 young people leaving with skills, confidence and a professional network of their own.”
Jack Gallacher, savings acquisition manager, Melton Building Society, added: "Opening our doors to these students and seeing our colleagues get so involved has been a genuine highlight, and the confidence the group showed by the final afternoon speaks for itself."
Email [email protected] or you are a business interested in volunteering an hour, a morning or a day at a future programme, or in hosting or funding a cohort.