Waltham Forest College students discover the world is their oyster through international work placements

Waltham Forest College students recently embarked on a fourteen thousand mile trip to take part in international work placements in Seville, arranged through the Erasmus project in the south of Spain.

Students spent four weeks stepping out of their comfort zone and working with various organisations, gaining a deeper knowledge of running a business and general commercial principles needed to operate successfully.

The work placement focused on enhancing students’ employability skills by offering valuable opportunities to put their learning into practice whilst developing the technical skills to improve their chance of getting into employment.

Tourism student, Michail Antzaras said: “This was my first trip abroad and one that I will always remember as I got to work in a well-known hotel chain and experience first-hand the world of work.”

Michail further commented, “I now feel more confident of my decision to enter the industry that I am studying towards and that I have a real advantage when I apply for roles due to the skills I developed.

College Principal, Dr. Joy Kettyle recently spoke at the Westminster Higher Education Forum, chaired by Lord Blunkett, former Secretary of State for Education and Employment. Dr. Kettyle led panel discussions on some of the challenges and opportunities of the new T Level qualifications which is currently being piloting this year.

Dr. Joy Kettyle said, “Our students have had the incredible opportunity to immerse themselves in another culture and build invaluable employability skills. This is a life changing experience that one can only hope the UK government will take into consideration when deciding on better funding and investment for further education colleges.”

“Our sector makes a difference to the lives of many young people and we want to ensure we serve our community well by offering them the employability skills needed to enter the industry of their choice and that no-one is left behind.”

Lord Blunkett has a historic affiliation with the further education sector of being educated and later teaching in the sector.