Firstco gives 5 students engineering work experience opportunity
08th July 2008
Firstco are very pleased to have five A-Level students, from a number of different schools, involved in a series of work experience weeks over the summer. Each one will spend a week with Firstco learning about some of the work that our engineers do, getting involved in meetings and performing some useful project related tasks.
The five students are Sali Kharobi, Elizabeth Lerew, Sadia Begum, Isao Ayugase and Yohannes Gebrekiros. They are all people who have attended the ‘Engineering Your Future’ day run by the Engineering Council, where Firstco has represented the Institute of Engineering and Technology on a number of occasions.
Sali Kharobi said “I wanted to do a week at Firstco because I thought it would be a good opportunity to find out more about the working environment of engineers. Work experience here will help me decide whether or not I would like to pursue a career in this area. I like the working environment and the Firstco staff are very friendly, welcoming and they all seem to get along and co-operate with each other well. Already, I have been busy with tasks, such as the contractor sub-surface assessment which I learnt a lot from, and I have also done some document registering which has given me a taste of what junior engineers would usually do. I will also be visiting Heathrow Terminal 5 and will have a chance to observe the engineers at work. I have found that engineering is quite varied as it involves having to travel to different places as well as office work. I would like to thank the Firstco staff for allowing me to have this experience and making it as enjoyable as possible.
David Bligh, Firstco’s HR Manager said “We have been delighted to participate in this event as it has allowed us to fulfil several corporate objectives on a continuous basis: Firstly, we are playing a part in encouraging young people into the engineering profession. Secondly, by varying the Firstco team at each event our own staff have gained experience of both presenting to large groups and event management. Thirdly, we have attracted some very smart students to undertake work experience with us who may prove to be valuable to us in the future as potential employees. Fourthly, we have been able to strengthen our relationship with the IET which in turn has helped encourage many members of staff to consider and pursue professional registration.“