Walton High students to improve CVs after visit to NHBC

by Bhupinder Roda | Oct 23, 2024 | News, Volunteer Story

15 Year 12 students from Walton High visited NHBC in Knowlhill for a one-day Employability Den workshop organised by Worktree. After a Career WorkOut carousel of 1-to-1 conversations with staff from all areas of the company, students completed a range of individual and small group challenges culminating in mock interviews.

In post workshop evaluation, all students agreed they had ‘enjoyed the session’ (87% strongly agreed), ‘learned a lot’ (67% strongly agreed) and ‘understand what skills employers want’ (60% strongly agreed).

“I enjoyed everything,” said student Methujan, “especially being interviewed. Now I’ll think more about my body language in interviews and update my CV.”

Another student, Bethel, said: “I enjoyed the shortlisting process, especially collaborating with a team, and will now think more about how I present myself.”

At the end of the day, all students wrote actions they’ll take to develop their employability, including re-writing their CVs, speaking more clearly and socialising more with people they don’t know.

Gemma Moore, NHBC’s Talent Acquisition Partner, said: “The day was an absolute delight, filled with an enthusiastic group of students who were fully engaged and eager to participate. It was clear they genuinely wanted to be there, ready to learn and open to all the advice shared with them. Tom from Worktree brought great energy, making the day fun and engaging for everyone (myself included!). The thoughtful design of the activities and his warm approach made everyone feel welcomed and encouraged to take part. A big thank you to all the Walton High students, teachers & Tom who made the day so enjoyable. We hope to see you all again soon!”

Donna Montague, the school’s Head of Education 2 Employment, said: “To see our students grow throughout the day has been incredible. They have been put outside their comfort zone and taken on the challenge in a positive way. It was an excellent day which will continue to have an impact on our students going forward. We would be keen to engage with more Employability Den sessions if the opportunity arises. Thank you to NHBC and the Worktree team for supporting Walton High.”

Worktree would like to thank sponsoring partner NHBC, especially Toni Archer and Gemma Moore, for hosting the event generously and enabling18 NHBC colleagues to engage with the students during the day.