Career Academy / BTEC Business Round-up

Posting by Ranjit Hayer, Business Studies teacher and Career Academy Co-ordinator

Half-term is upon us and I think we could all do with a break. The BTEC Business students – and in particular those that are part of the Career Academy – have had an incredibly term so far.

The Career Academy have visited Solihull MBC, Solihull Police, npower, and Her Majesty’s Revenues & Customs in recent months. This week, they added Arup in the Blythe Valley park in Shirley to their list of destinations.

Arup have hosted several Career Academy events for us and on this occasion, the students were given a presentation by the Commercial Director Mike Evans and a tour by Director David Stevens who has been a keen supporter of Career Academy since the college began the programme.

We learnt how Arup don’t make ‘sales’ in the traditional sense, but instead receive fees as they design buildings for their clients. This ranges from the design for the iconic Bull Ring to a project they are currently working on for the HS2, the high speed link between Birmingham and London. The students also learnt about Arup’s involvement in the designing of some of the Olympic buildings in London for 2012.

The students learnt how the current economic climate has meant that Arup have had to find new projects abroad. For example, the announcement that the Football World Cup that will take place in Brazil in 2018 has meant that Arup have already opened offices there and plan to design buildings in preparation for this.

We thank Mike Evans and David Stevens for giving up their valuable time and we look forward to visiting Arup again in July for our end-of-year celebration event.

Away from the Career Academy, all the students on the BTEC Extended Diploma Business course benefitted from a talk by Philip Lloyd Williams, Director of Governance and Solicitor to the Council this week. He came into College to assist students with their unit on the Law making process.

Philip went through how judges look at case law to cover the gaps that Acts of Parliament leave open, due to some laws being made years ago. He also discussed a famous landmark case that changed the responsibilities businesses have towards their customers, called the Donogue v Stephenson case. This case involved a customer finding a decomposed snail in their ginger beer! He explained how this case developed what we now regularly regard as the ‘duty of care’.

All the students enjoyed this talk and can now begin their last assignment of their BTEC unit in Year 12.

BTEC Business face Dragons Den!

Posting by Ranjit Hayer, BTEC Business teacher

Dragons Den, eat your heart out!!

Last week the current Year 13 students on the BTEC Extended Diploma Business course completed a presentation on their Business Plan ideas to outside businesses.

Representative from npower and McDonalds, as well as the College Principal Paul Ashdown, were present to watch Year 13 students explain their new business ideas, which ranged from adventure holidays to smoothie bars to ice cream parlours.

The students had to come up with viable propositions for new businesses and present their plans as if they were pitching for financial backing, similar to what you see on TV in Dragons Den. The students went through how they decided on their ideas and what market research had been carried out to increase the chances of their business surviving under the current economic conditions.

All the presentations were well planned; some even had props, with mock ups of the proposed stores. The observers posed questions to see how well the students were at answering questions under pressure. Those watching the presentation commented how good the ideas were and commended the students for the detail that they had gone into.

Everyone who attended enjoyed the activity and the students learnt a lot, including skills that will benefit them when they enter the employment market themselves. If any harbour ambitions to start their own businesses in the long term, this experience will have provided a taste of what they can expect when pitching an idea.

Career Academy reflecting on first year

Posting by Ranjit Hayer, Business Studies teacher and Career Academy Co-ordinator

We are coming to the end of the first year of the Career Academy, which is a national scheme, which raises the aspirations and develops the employability skills of young people. Career Academies UK has been working with the College to secure workplace networks and experiences for students, linking up with both local and national employers.

We had the third and final Local Advisory Board (LAB) meeting of the year this week and it was an opportunity for all the businesses that have supported the Career Academy  to reflect on how the year has gone.

Some of the Career Academy students were present at the meeting and spoke of some of the visits and guru lectures they had been a part of over the course of the year. They told those at the meeting what they had enjoyed about these experiences and what they had learned.

Sam Wallace, our very first Career Academy student to gain his internship place was at the meeting. He has a six-week paid internship at Coventry Building Society, which be obtained after a rigorous recruitment process. He explained what he had to do on his assessment day, which was just one part of the recruitment process. Sue Burrows, the Branch Manager of Solihull Coventry Building Society, who also sits on our Local Advisory Board, also explained how Sam coped with their live recruitment process.

Other topics that were discussed included how the students have benefited from the programme and the students were able to input themselves about how we could change some things ready for the new Year 12 students coming in September.

We are also looking forward to our Career Academy Celebration event in July. The event takes place on Monday 4 July at Arup’s offices in the Blythe Valley Business Park at 4.30pm. Staff from the College will be joined by the ten students who have formed this inaugural Career Academy. It will be hosted by Solihull MBC Chief Executive Mark Rogers.

At this celebration event, a host of business partners, together with other prospective future partners will join the College to celebrate what has already taken place, as well as looking to forge further business partnerships for next year.

Police Tour for Career Academy

Posting by Ranjit Hayer, Business Studies teacher

Myself and Principal Paul Ashdown went with the Career Academy students to Solihull Police Station yesterday for the latest visit organised as part of the Career Academy initiative at the College.

The scheme, which raises the aspirations and develops the employability skills of young people, involves not only visits, but also guest lectures, business mentoring and six-week paid internships with local firms.

The students toured Solihull Police Station and saw in practice how 999 calls are dealt with, including how staff respond to these calls. Staff also showed the students how major incidents are planned for and how the station itself is managed.

The students found out what makes a good police officer, including the importance of inter-personal skills and the skills that new applicants need to have. They learnt how the police is not just a public service, but it is run like any other business and how the current economic climate has affected the way police are recruited. Staff also spoke of the ways they are trying to improve the efficiency within the police force.

During the tour, we saw the custody cells and then looked at how finger printing is now done by simply scanning hands, thanks to new technology. Gone are the days of black ink all over people’s hands!

Chief Superintendant Dave Walker was present and he explained what his role involves, including night shift working, being part of the wider West Midlands force and helping other stations when man power is needed.

It was a good day out for all the students, and for Paul and I. We all enjoyed ourselves and learnt a lot. Carol Alldred, who sits of the Career Academy’s Local Advisory Board, organised this visit and we are grateful to her for that.

Check out www.facebook.com/solihullsixthform for more photos.

North York Moors Expedition

Posting by Grigor Wallace, Duke of Edinburgh Co-ordinator

As well as being a teacher in the Sports department at College, I also co-ordinate the Duke of Edinburgh Gold award, which a number of students take advantage of.

Duke of Edinburgh is a great thing to do; it gets you out into some of the most beautiful parts of the country, challenges you physically and it’s a great thing to put down on university and job applications.

We recently undertook a couple of trips to help get the students prepared for their assessed expedition in September. First we went to the Peak District, in early April, where the students hiked and stay in a youth hostel in Edale. More recently, we did a full practice expedition, this time to the North York Moors.

A group of 18 students took advantage of beautiful weather conditions near Whitby, as they hiked and camped at farmsteads, only having limited access to minimal conveniences.

The students spent four days navigating in open and wild country. They devised the routes as groups and put into practice the work learnt in the classroom on planning, food choice, cooking, rucksack packing, appropriate pacing, as well as the all important teamwork required for expeditions of this type. Staff monitored the groups throughout.

It gave them a good grounding ahead of September’s assessed expedition to the Cheviot Hills. In addition to the technical requirements, they also had to deal with the physical discomforts that go with such strenuous hikes, including tired muscles and blistered feet.

This expedition was great practice for the students. It gave them all experience on what to expect when they are assessed later in the year. They now know the additional preparations they need to make prior to the more physically demanding final trip.

Thanks go to the volunteer staff: Dave Lewis, Gail Williams, Louis Hume and Suzanne Madeley. Their help was invaluable and without it trips of this kind would not be possible.

More photos are available to view on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/solihullsixthform.

5-Star Trip to Turkey

Posting by Ranjit Hayer, Business Studies teacher

The summer term has just begun and students are getting their heads down and revising for important exams. Doubtless some started their revision over the Easter break or even earlier. For some of the Business Studies students, the Easter holidays saw them learning about how a 5-star holiday resort operates, but if you have to work during the holidays there are worse places to do it than in the sunshine in Turkey.

I travelled with a group of 10 A2 students to the 5-star ultra all-inclusive resort called the Daima Resort in Antalya. The students had daily workshops from visiting speakers from the management team of the Daima Resort, who explained their roles in the workings of the hotel.

The students spoke to the General Manager, the Guest Relations Manager, the Marketing Manager, the Human Resourses Manager, the Accounts Manager and the Food & Beverage manager there too. They learnt how these people market the hotel, which travel agents they use, and how they maintain the costs when they are in low season. Indeed, students saw how this happens first hand, as during the visit the hotel had a cancellation from a travel agent who had pre-booked 200 rooms. The staff explained the consequences to the hotel of this cancellation and what had to be done to limit the costs. This is a typical example of how businesses have to cope with unexpected issues, so it was a valuable lesson for the students.

The students also learnt how staff are recruited seasonally and how the hotel trains them, and those staff reported back to the students on why they chose to work at the hotel and what motivates them. The students were given a behind the scenes tour of the hotel and saw the construction of the new hotel that is also owned by Daima Resorts due to open at the end of May.

The students collected information throughout the week and presented a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) to the General Manager of the hotel, who commented on how important it is that they ensure all the hotel guest enjoy their stay. This was well demonstrated by a surprise for one of our students, who turned 18 during the trip and was given a birthday cake by the hotel. Staff at the resort also arranged birthday activities for the students to enjoy and we all had a great evening. We all took time to complete the hotel questionnaire to give the resort our feedback on our stay.

When not working we all took part in other activities that the hotel had to offer, including playing water polo, enjoying the on-site aqua park, the Turkish baths, playing darts, and enjoying the beach and sunshine! The hotel recommended a boat trip out to see the cliffs and the lagoons that surround the mountainous region and we had a chance to dive into the sea and swim. We also visited Antalya to see a traditional Turkish Bazaar.

It was a wonderful trip and we are grateful to the staff at the hotel for accommodating us and passing on such valuable insights to the students. If we had to work over the Easter break, we certainly could not have asked for better surroundings to do so.

One of the hotel staff who worked with us was actually a former student of the College and it was wonderful to see how well she has done since leaving the College.

There are a few pictures below of the trip and lots more on the College's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/solihullsixthform.