Every week we tell you what our Future Finders students have been up to on a weekly basis within their various placements, showcasing their progress and their achievements! This week one of our Future Finders was invited to an important meeting down at New Bridge to chat with the senior staff and tell them what he thinks of Future Finders, what he has been up to and what his aspirations are for the future.
Lewis decided that he wanted to write a speech to give himself some pointers of what he wanted to tell them. Lewis let me read his speech and I have decided to use it as this week’s ‘Day in the Life’ feature – it is an honest account and all his own work. Over to you Lewis….
A Day in the Life of Lewis
Future FindersGood afternoon and greetings fellow staff members my name is Lewis (I’m pretty sure everyone in this school has heard that name being mentioned all the time) and in this speech today I am going to give you a little bit of a background story of how I got to Future Finders and how I got to where I am right now. So without further ado, let’s get started shall we?
Ever heard the saying ‘when one door closes, another opens’ well that door at Digit4ll was beginning to shut and close as my three year stay from 2015-2018 was coming to a complete end. I knew that I was ready to begin a brand new different challenge that I have never faced before, so I was thinking to myself ‘what’s gonna happen now, where am I gonna go’ I had some interests from other colleges but if I was to go to another college then in my honest opinion It would be a big big risk because I probably wouldn’t get the best help in terms of job searching so I made possibly the safest and correct decision to join Future Finders.
I’m going to be completely honest here first of all, when I got told that Future Finders was a top priority for me to go to I genuinely had no interest in it at all. I remember myself saying in a funny way ‘oh come on let me just have a brand new fresh start at a college like Oldham College, Hopwood Hall even Oldham Sixth Form come on guys just leave me alone’ but now when I think back to that moment I was probably being a bit too ambitious and a bit of a show off shall I say. I knew i wouldn’t get the best help at either of them colleges so I slowly walked back to the Future Finders path in other words ‘ok let me join and let’s do this’ and let’s just say ever since I’ve joined it was the best and easiest decision I have made in terms of stepping up my career and where to get a job at. I wouldn’t be where I am now in terms of searching jobs without these guys help so thank you each staff member at FF.
So where am I working at now? What’s happening to me now ever since? Well as of now I am currently working on placement as a Teaching Assistant in ICT at this very place where my career began (a bit of nostalgia I should say from former student to staff) this is one dream job that I would 100% love to take, not just because I get recognised and I used to be a student here but because I can bring my knowledge of ICT that I have already learnt years ago to the great young people in this school, helping students learn the subject that I learnt would be a pleasure so fingers crossed and let’s see what happens. I recently went on to try for an apprenticeship doing ICT engineering at Manchester Metropolitan University which I absolutely loved doing all the time. But unfortunately I was told by one of the Future Finders job coaches Genna that the apprenticeship was off because they couldn’t sort the correct funding (wage should I say) out. I was as you can guess gutted and disappointed but it left the door open to many opportunities and many more possibilities that I can do.
So right now I’ve got two choices, Choice one is to hopefully get an apprenticeship here at this very school as a Teaching Assistant and if that doesn’t work out Choice B is to search for another ICT apprenticeship job somewhere around Manchester (maybe BBC or ITV you could do with someone good like me videoing or media maybe) but seriously I’ve got some very busy weeks and months yet to come because at this time now it is crucial.
Thank you for taking the time to listen to this speech, I hope you enjoyed listening to it as much as I did reading this out. What I will say lastly is I wouldn’t be in this position without Future Finders and of course a shout out to Digit4ll too. So if you see something that you really want to do take that opportunity that comes and grab it and then like me and other past students you’ll be where we are now.
Thank you all very much fellow people have a wonderful day.
Our Pastoral Lead, Diane, has all the latest news of our students..
Our students on Future Finders are continually striving and accomplishing new skills and knowledge in their various roles throughout Oldham, Tameside and Manchester. Feedback from the staff and customers who support our students have nothing but praise and show a willingness to dedicate time and effort to ensure our young people have all the necessary skills to succeed for the future. Our students are committed, enthusiastic and go all-out to show that they are employable young people who want to work and be part of our society. Over to our students and what they have been doing this week..
Lewis is back working as a Teaching Assistant in the Digit4ll pathway at New Bridge School and everyone is so happy to have him back! Lewis, as always, is working well with the ICT group. Lewis will be spending his Friday afternoon with the Senior Leadership Team down at New Bridge where he has been invited to the Invitational Meeting to tell them all about what he has been up to and how Future Finders has supported him.
Now the café is up and running Jason is working hard in the role with the support from staff. Jason is now spending more time with Julie looking at hot service, sorting out the deliveries and working on the tills. Jason is passionate about his role, he is never late and is always hardworking, polite and will be a great asset to a future employer..
Fahad is proving to be an asset around the Library, he will spot a customer a mile off and is very keen to help out. Fahad never stops, he can turn his hand to all the roles and is always happy to help. Fahad continues to help in the ICT department at the Library, also assisting with printing, equalising and generally being of service throughout his day.
Josh has a split role during his Future Finders week, he works at The Atrium and David Lloyd. I have been working with Josh preparing food for customers at The Atrium Cafe. Josh is another student who loves working in the café, there are so many different jobs and skills to learn – everybody loves his cheese and crackers with a few grapes thrown in for good measure. Josh also does the trolley run, make coffees, washes up and serves customers on the till – he says, “We are all very busy but I enjoy being with the staff at Atrium, they help me a lot with all the various jobs.”
Liam has worked hard this week in the café, he never complains and loves to bake, do the trolley run and help out with serving customers. Liam enjoys working with the staff, he also gets stuck into the pot washing, tidying up and cleaning. I have to say this suits Liam and hopefully he will continue to work on his CV in preparation for July.
Reece is continuing his place at Koderly based in Oldham. Staff have informed us that he is continuing to maintain his current workload and we’re looking forward to seeing what the future holds for him, using the skills he has gained in future jobs. Reece is committed in the role and his attendance and work ethic is excellent. Reece again is looking for employment and always like to keep his CV up to date.
Our Job Coach Genna now has an update from the Manchester Metropolitan University students for us..
Dominic has had a very busy week, he has also been for an interview with a training provider in Manchester for a possible apprenticeship. Dominic was quite nervous, he knew he also had to do a basic Maths and English assessment.
Here he is at his interview with Matthew where he was asked about why he wanted the job,and the skills and qualities he has, which he prepped for beforehand..
Here he is completing his Maths test!
I have never seen Dominic so quiet! I have asked Matthew to come and work with me as he has this effect on Dominic!
Luka is also applying for catering positions, so hopefully he will be in a cafe or restaurant near you soon!! P.S he makes a mean pizza. Luka has moved and is carrying out new food preparation skills including shredding chicken off the bone! (rather him than me, I can’t handle the bones!)
Lastly, please meet our new addition to the Future Finders team and that is…. Howard….
….. the toilet duck. Josh rescued him from facilities and brought him to class so he is now part of the MMU family!! So, from Diane, myself, the MMU team and Howard (of course), hope you have a lovely weekend and we will catch up soon!
I am aware that the current situation with the COVID-19 virus is very worrying for parents and carers. I would like to reassure you that we are monitoring developments closely and we continue to follow the latest official guidance to ensure we are doing everything we can to keep our young people safe. Please see the update on our website here for more details and advice – we will be keeping this page updated daily from Monday (at 2.30pm) and we will inform you of any developments.
I hope you have a lovely weekend,
Jaina
Head of College
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