Catering student Thomas Shekells, 16 from Studley, has just finished his dream work experience placement at a local inn – The Throckmorton Pub in Alcester.
Thomas was already working in the pub kitchen, but his placement, which he completed in May, gave him the opportunity to take on much more responsibility in a wider variety of job roles. His duties involved working in three different areas of the business – housekeeping, which included making sure rooms were clean and ready for guests; preparing food for customers in the kitchen; and working with the front of house team.
Thomas has now returned to his studies and he spoke about how his work experience had benefited him: “I was able to improve my knife skills a lot and I’ve transferred them back to my College lessons. This has been a great help in my assessments.
“I became a lot more confident. I’m normally quite quiet so working as a front of house team member was challenging. But I became more sure of myself as the week went on.”
With his newly gained skills and increased self-confidence, Thomas has no doubts about the value of the work experience programme: “Work experience lets students understand what the industry is really like and allows them to know exactly what to expect when they enter the workplace.”
