Member Article

Board Room verdict on Ashington High School students is: ‘You’re Hired!’

Six students from South East Northumberland are celebrating their success after completing a rigorous selection process to land a pre-apprenticeship work placement with The Bernicia Housing Group based in Ashington.

Bernicia has been working closely with Ashington High School to identify six students who would benefit from the opportunity to learn about the world of work and equip them with the skills, knowledge and experience to help them reach their full potential when they leave school.

Rob Kitching, principal at Ashington High School, said: “As a school, the link with Bernicia offered a fantastic opportunity for our students to explore the world of work with a well respected local employer.

“We are extremely grateful to The Bernicia Group for being so open to the idea of putting our students through a selection process that included completing a job application form and formal interview.

“The interview process can be a daunting one, so school staff worked intensively with students alongside their parents, to ensure the young candidates were one hundred per cent comfortable with the selection process.

“There was no guarantee that all six students would be taken on placement, so the fact our learners have demonstrated to Bernicia that they are the real deal is a fantastic achievement.”

The Bernicia Group is a charitable business with a £40million turnover and workforce of 300. They provide more than 8000 homes throughout the North East of England, with almost 6000 located in South East Northumberland and over 2000 within Tyne and Wear.

Debra Beattie, head of organisational development at Bernicia, said: “We began talking to Ashington High in the summer about the potential to give students the opportunity to participate in interviews that could lead to genuine work placements in the areas of Property Maintenance, Construction and Business Administration.

“We have been delighted by the way the students responded to the challenge of interacting with us through a formal recruitment process, and were very impressed with the way they conducted themselves on the day of the interviews both individually, but also collectively as a group.

“Bernicia is committed to making a difference in the locality in which we are based so we are delighted to be able to work so closely with Ashington High on a work placement programme that will hopefully bring a positive additional element to their studies.”

Ashington High School is part of Ashington Learning Partnership Trust, a collaboration of five schools which includes Bothal Middle School, Hirst Park Middle School, Central First School and Wansbeck First School. The Trust has a strong track record of working with business and industry on experiential projects that allow learners to develop a wide ranging skills set.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Amy Maughan, Contributor .