Page Group and Longley Park Sixth Form

Page Group, a recruitment consultancy with an office in Sheffield, approached See it Be it in Sheffield as they wanted to develop some educational outreach activities focussing on the job application process.

The Page Group team initially became aware of the work of See it Be it through attending a Business in the Community Seeing is Believing visit in Sheffield, which highlighted some of the challenges communities in the city are facing, and how businesses can play a part in addressing these.

The See it Be it team met with Ruth Hancock and Will Eisenberg from Page Group and helped them develop a session that looked at the whole application process for young people – how to look for jobs, how to apply and tips for interviews. We were able to give Ruth and Will insight on how Careers Education works, and what schools and colleges are looking for from employers to complement this.

Page Group wanted to trial the session with Sixth Formers who were close to applying for their first jobs or part time work. We matched them with Longley Park Sixth Form, where Michael Page Director Kelvin Stagg had previously met students on the Seeing is Believing visit.

We introduced them to Rae Nichols and Tim Lyddiatt at Longley Park, who spoke to us about the diverse makeup of the College, their ambitious and inclusive curriculum, and their approach to Careers Education. Between the three organisations, we shaped and tailored Page Group’s offer to meet the needs of the College and their students, before delivering a full day of sessions during National Apprenticeship Week to around 100 students.

Feedback from the students was overwhelmingly positive, with 96% of those surveyed afterwards saying they now felt more confident about finding and applying for a job and interviewing.

Ruth Hancock from Page Group said: “This was a really worthwhile experience working with the See it Be it team and Longley Park Sixth Form staff to create a bespoke session to address and overcome some of the challenges young people face when looking for work and interviewing. We had several sessions together leading up to the day to ensure that we were optimising the time we had and that the messaging complimented the work the careers team and tutors at Longley Park are already undertaking. The students were engaged, asked some great questions and gave superb feedback. A great day at a fantastic college!”

Tim Lyddiatt from Longley Park Sixth Form said: “We believe that the best way to demystify work for our young people is to provide as many real interactions with employers and workplaces as possible. Page Group’s offer to spend the day with our level 3, year 1 BTEC and A Levels students was a great example of this work. As recruiters, the company is perfectly placed to debunk many of the myths surrounding finding and securing work as well as giving insight on what interviewers are really looking for.”

Charlotte Bjorck from See it Be it in Sheffield said “This is a great example of how we can help broker relationships for employers with schools and colleges, and help them to develop an offer that meets the needs of young people. It was a pleasure working with everyone involved and seeing the activities develop”

If you are an employer looking for support with your educational outreach, or a school or college looking to improve your employer links, contact us on seeitbeit@sheffield.gov.uk and we would be happy to meet with you to discuss your requirements.