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Hear from our students

Check out some of the success stories below from students who have spent time with local employers in real life working environments, as part of their study programmes.

Performing Arts

Employer – Gorgeous Productions (Comedian Jack Whitehall)

Tour manager, John Dodkin at Gorgeous Productions offered ten of our performing arts students, the chance to perform at the Sheffield Arena, in comedian Jack Whitehall’s stand up show finale. As there was so much interest in the opportunity from such a large number of students, an audition process was set up, so that a panel of performing arts staff could select the successful students.

The students spent the afternoon with the Head Dancer, Bex Leung, showing them the routine they were to perform at the end of the evening in front of a sell-out crowd of 30,000 people. The students got the chance to meet the comedian Jack Whitehall in person which they were all very excited about. The students were extremely professional in their approach, all understanding the importance of getting the routine correct, and were praised after the show by the tour manager, the head dancer and all of the other road crew members.

The students felt that this was an amazing experience for them to see what it was like to be involved in the whole process of such a large show, and how much goes into it.

Construction & Engineering

Employer - Taylor Tuxford

“Thanks to Taylor Tuxford for choosing me as the winner of the £500 bursary. I’m really looking forward to starting my career in joinery, and the money is going to be a big help in preparing me for my next steps."

"I’ve just started looking for a company to start my apprenticeship with and I hope the passion and enthusiasm that Taylor Tuxford saw in my application will help me secure an apprenticeship after this college course finishes.”

Animal care

Case study of gaining part time employment

"Gaining experience from level 2 Industry Tasters definitely made me more confident when progressing onto an Industry Placement, whilst studying level 3 Animal Care. At the beginning of my Industry Tasters, I was very shy and not great at communicating but meeting new people at my placement really helped bring me out of my shell."

"The thing I loved the most about my Industry Placements and Tasters was gaining experience with a variety of animals. I was able to expand on what I was taught in theory lessons and in Work-related Activity sessions, applying learnt knowledge to real-life situations."

"I believe that getting hands-on experience in a real-life workplace really helped me gain more confidence… I showed my supervisors how enthusiastic and passionate I was about my placement, they asked me if I wanted to volunteer a bit longer and mentioned how it could become a paid job."

"During my weekends I continued volunteering after my placement, I engaged with customers and continued learning. A few weeks went by and I was offered the part time job there… I’m always looking to gain as much experience as possible so I will definitely be finding and applying for one or two extra placements next year with the Work-related Activity team."

Photography

Employer - Getty Images (Women’s Euros 2022)

 

In June 2022, The Sheffield College were approached to work on a photography archive project in partnership with The FA, Getty Images and Sheffield City Council. As one of the nine UEFA Host Cities taking part in the Women’s Euros, the project was looking for young people with an interest in photography to capture the celebration of the game, including fan parties, parades, and arts and heritage projects in Sheffield City Centre.

7 of our level 2 and level 3 photography students committed to the project, which consisted of 3 x online webinar sessions with Getty Images and 3 x work experience days during the tournament. The work experience days involved the students taking photographs in key locations around the city, capturing the fan experiences prior to the football games. Sheffield was absolutely abuzz with fans, having record crowds attend the matches and having a brilliant atmosphere in the City for the students to capture. This was made even more exciting for the students to be a part of when Sheffield hosted the semi-final match between England and Sweden! The project gave the students chance to not only build on their photography skills, but also their communication, adaptability and resilience.

At the end of the summer the students will work with the local archivist to select their best images to go into the local archive, having the opportunity to be nominated to win a work shadowing day with a Getty Images photographer. They have also had the opportunity to submit 5 of their favourite photographs to the FA, to be in with a chance for their images to be included in an online exhibition and be archived at the National Football Museum.

This has been a thrilling and exciting project for the students be a part of, showcasing Sheffield’s culture and creativity throughout the tournament, whilst also being part of a record-breaking event and England bringing the trophy home!

Media Make-up

Employer - Sheffield Museums Trust

Hunter is a brilliant example of a student who has flourished during HSHG projects. Hunter has been involved with projects with Sheffield Museums Trust over the last 2 years during his time studying a Media Make-up Diploma at College. Hunter first took part in the Young Makers Project, which focused around the reimagining of Sheffield Museums spaces. Hunter continued working with Sheffield Museums Trust independently through volunteering work, and earlier this academic year, got involved with Young Makers again, alongside another programme that Sheffield Museums Trust run, Museum Youth. Hunter worked with young people in the Sheffield City region, attending weekly Museum Youth meetings, to plan an event that took place in March. The event, Young People Lates was an event for young people which involved a variety of free activities and performances from live acts. Hunter not only helped to set up the exhibition and prepare for the event, but also delivered stage make-up as an activity. Hunter also had the opportunity to create a contact with The Northern Ballet, who were one of the event sponsors, this contact is valuable for Hunter and could be the first step into networking in the industry!

“I really enjoyed it. I feel like towards the end I really found my grounding and ability to talk to the young people and help with the project. I also really enjoyed working with Will and Fabien (the artists running the programme). I enjoyed the badge making a lot as well, because it gave me a chance to talk with the young people. I have really enjoyed everything, particularly working with school children which was really fun.”

IT & Computing

Employer - Millgate

3 of our IT Level 3 Year 2 Millgate Academy students, Jack Nuttall, Jude Anderson and Matthew Rowe, have completed a 10 week placement with Millgate.

The students thoroughly enjoyed their time there, and impressed the Millgate team! During their placements. The students worked as part of the remote support Helpdesk, and also had the opportunity to spend time in different departments to understand other areas of the company. Matthew finished his placement in time to enjoy the summer before starting his undergraduate course at Sheffield Hallam University, and Jude and Jack have transitioned into paid apprentice roles and will be staying on with Millgate. This is fantastic news for Jude and Jack. We are so pleased that they have managed to secure apprenticeships from their work placements, and wish Matthew all the best with his university journey. There is no doubt that his time at Millgate has provided him with valuable hands-on experience.