SSE employees went back to school to help pupils in Hampshire get prepared for the world of work with a lesson in real-life interview skills.
12 members of the IT team at SSE’s Penner Road office spent the day helping around 70 pupils at Park Community School in Havant get more familiar with the interview experience and try out some of those essential interview techniques.
The day kicked off with the pupils completing an application form for a mock job role of their choice; these ranged from cabin crew member and nursery nurse to solicitor and aircraft technician. They were then interviewed by an SSE volunteer and rated on a range of qualities such attitude, communication skills, knowledge and body language.
Matt Compton, a former pupil of Park Community School and SSE employee, was delighted to return to the school after 12 years. He said: “As an ex-pupil I was really pleased to be able to visit the school and help provide support and some real-life training for the pupils. It’s something that I would have appreciated at their age.
“Interview experiences can be nerve-wracking at the best of times and it’s even more the case when it’s your very first. Although many of the pupils were understandably nervous on entering the interview scenario, it was good to see them leave smiling and hopefully more prepared and confident about handling interview situations in future with some key tips on landing a job.”
Christopher Anders, Head Teacher of Park Community School, added: “We believe there is a benefit for our students in being able to meet and talk with adults from outside the world of education. By being asked about their qualities, abilities and aspirations in an interview-type situation, they begin to reflect on what skills and attitudes will be important to them, in addition to qualifications, when seeking employment in the future.
“We’d like to thank all the SSE employees who helped us provide this interview training and look forward to working with then again in the future.”
Park Community School was able to receive assistance from SSE employees through the company’s employee volunteering scheme, Community at Heart. The scheme gives every employee a day off from their normal work duties to help an organisation or charity in their local community.
Since the launch of the scheme, SSE volunteers have been involved in over 1,400 projects across Britain and Ireland and have given over 16,500 days.