As we fast approach the half term, life and work at Medtia continues at full speed. The students are settled and engaged in the work they are doing and are working hard to ensure that they are equipped to sit the qualifications that are coming up soon for many of them.

Here is Diane with an overview of their week..

A new year and new work placements for our Future Finders students, where they are once again proving invaluable in their new roles. They have all adapted to the change, working hard and showing great potential in developing new skills and meeting new people. At present, we have three students in the pop-up café at the Guinness Partnership. In a month or so, we will be moving into the brand-new café there with hot and cold food. Exciting times ahead! We are now making plans around all the additional jobs/roles/timetables that will be available for our students. Over to Jason for an update at The Guinness Partnership..

I am on my second term at Guinness Cafe. I am feeling a lot more confident here, it’s one of the best places I have worked. I really enjoy meeting and serving all the customers. It’s a very busy place and there are lots of jobs to keep me busy. I am starting to use the tills and money and serve the customers independently…. Well, I can’t stop, the crisps are running out again – got to keep the customers satisfied!

At Manchester Metropolitan University, two of our students have moved onto new placements – over to Dominic and Luka..

Dominic is enjoying his new placement in Facilities!! It all looks a little disturbing, but do not worry, that is not a real body!! Dominic is now working in the Facilities department, where trainee doctors test their syringe and resuscitation techniques – as you can see in the picture, this is a model that replicates human flesh. Attractive, I know! Dominic is not fazed and is showing a keen interest in this department..

Luka is increasing his skills in the F&B department and is helping the chef prepare various foods in the morning. Luka has now moved to the front of house to serve, multi-tasking and meeting customers. Luka is very hard working and very co-operative. He is man of very few words though, so when we asked him if he is enjoying the placement, his reply was simply, “I like it”..

Both Luka and Dominic attended The Chamber of Commerce to help sign guests into a presentation by our Assistant CEO Mr Daniel Wood. Both were extremely professional and made a great impression, showing what our students are capable of in the workplace and in the community..

At the beginning of January, I supported Reece on his new placement at Web Applications UK, which is based in Oldham. We planned the route from his home to placement on the tram a few days prior to starting, met the new staff and spoke about the hours and what the new role will entail. Reece thoroughly enjoys anything to with programming and computers, again he is working well and learning new skills, he is becoming more confident and building on his communication skills – he will be telling you all about it later in the blog!

I decided to visit Matthew unannounced earlier in January; at first the staff didn’t know who I was, however, when I arrived, everyone was happy and smiling. The staff at the Clean Plate Kitchen are exceptional with Matthew, they bring out the best in him and he never fails to impress with his commitment and work ethic. Matthew then spotted me at the counter and greeted me with a big smile, explaining to the staff who I was. Everyone made me feel very welcome. Matthew he has a great attitude in the café, he is always smiling and committed to the role. Well done Matthew.

Liam has started his placement at the Atrium Café where he has got off to a flying start and is really happy in his new role. Liam is good at following instructions and really keen to get stuck in. Liam loves using the power washer, baking and using the coffee machine. Well done Liam.

Lewis is continuing to work well at New Bridge School. He is becoming more and more confident with the pupils, working mainly with the Year 7 classes. Lewis is really enjoying the ICT classes, the pupils look at him as a Teaching Assistant and will ask for his help. Here is what he has to say about his placement: “I always try and help the students to improve their ICT skills and have little chats with them. Every student is different and I am improving in my communication skills and adapting to their way of thinking.”

Josh is on a new work placement at David Lloyd in Middleton: “I have been doing lots of different jobs. I really enjoy front of house, we all have to help out in the kitchen, washing the pots, tidying up and making sure everything is put away. This week I have been working behind the bar and made my very first Smoothie. What a treat!”

Fahad is continuing this term with his placement at the Library. Fahad is now travelling independently from Medtia to his placement. Fahad always puts 100% into the role, he works tirelessly during the day and is happy and polite with the staff and customers. Fahad is continuing to support customers with emails, letters, printing machines/money and general queries throughout the day. Fahad would love to work at the Library – “Hopefully in the future I will get a job here if I work hard.”

Now, as promised, Anne-Marie has asked Reece to share a day in his life at his new placement..

This week’s ‘Day in the Life’ is coming from Reece. He has settled in brilliantly at Koderly and has been up to some amazing things, forming new relationships and taking part in the tasks that they complete there. I will now hand you over to Reece who will explain more about what he does on his new placement..

A Day in the Life of Reece
Web Applications, Oldham

My placement is located in Oldham and is called Web Applications. It’s a placement which basically revolves around web development and has individuals who will guide me, along with helping me pursue further with my knowledge.

Web Applications aka Koderly is a company which works closely with their partners to develop, customize, support and enhance enterprise software systems to manage evolving and complex business needs.

What this means is that they are working on systems which help businesses with management, this could be such things as databases, which I have learnt quite a lot about during my time being on the placement itself. They have explained to me the functionality of databases and how they work and this has allowed me to in my own time apply that knowledge into home projects that I am working on that I will demonstrate accordingly to any individuals who are there. Overall this placement is helping me in the long run and the other placements that will come along. I am currently satisfied with the placement that I am in and can truly see just how much this will benefit me in the future.

They allow me to demonstrate my knowledge and help me understand where I have went wrong by observing my own code and pointing out to me where the flaws are and/or suggesting ways that I could improve it. The individuals who are helping me are people who are experienced within coding and can help me efficiently progress through as stated before, observing my actions and pointing out the flaws as a means to help me improve with my very own knowledge so that I am able to work more efficiently. The placement itself is helping me to engage with individuals and improving my overall social capabilities, by allowing me to practice them so that I would be able to be prepared for the future later on. This enhancement towards my own capability serves as being beneficial with the main factor of it assisting me within my very own future needs, so that I can apply the skills that I have acquired from my previous experiences in future work.

I am currently adopting great social skills, and cooperative skills too. Cooperative skills are become more enhanced due to the practice that I have had and this placement enables me to enhance them further so that I am able to apply those cooperative skills in future work. The skills that I am obtaining from the experience as said are going to benefit me massively and that is why I am striving for improvement. I want to be able to notice my very own flaws so that I am able to improve myself for the needs of other companies to a very satisfactory level.

Have a lovely weekend,

Jaina
Head of College

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