Last November Solihull Police and Council officers approached Solihull College & University Centre with a proposition and request for a computing student to assist with a new project. The Police and Council were looking for a student whose expertise was in computing and a student who would be a capable volunteer to take on the project in a professional manner. It was identified by the Police and Council that there would be value in developing a joint partnership webpage to include details of shared good news, volunteering opportunities and information which would be beneficial to the communities of Solihull and this is where the computing department at Solihull College & University Centre was asked to help.
After putting the opportunity to students at the College, student Robert Partridge jumped at the chance to undertake a work experience placement, initially for two weeks, with SMBC and Solihull Police to build a website, something which would be greatly beneficial to add to Robert’s work experience portfolio. Robert impressed throughout his work experience placement and the project developed over the months as Robert showcased his computing skills.
Inspector Darren Wilson of Solihull Police Partnership Team commented:
“Over the last five months Robert has worked with the Partnership Team and Neighbourhood Services to develop www.solihullgetinvolved.co.uk. The site has taken much work and is now getting between 60-120 hits per day with nearly 4,500 individuals viewing the site over the last month and a half.
“The design has been commended by individuals across several organisations, the community of Solihull have responded positively to being able to see what is available and what is happening within their neighbourhood.
“Robert has not only developed the site in his own time, he has attended police and council buildings weekly to link in and share developments, has provided training, built a help site to assist partners in posting information on the website, and has provided on-going trouble shooting during the sites development.
“Robert has given his own time and has proved himself to be professional and reliable and is a credit to Solihull College & University Centre. Robert has undertaken all this alongside his part-time job, his college course including exams and most recently his driving test.”
Caroline Naven Head of Solihull Council’s Neighbourhood Services added:
“We are all really bowled over by Rob’s hard work and it was great to hear that Rob was able to include this project on his UCAS form which helped to secure his place at University. In future, we would be willing to provide students with opportunities for work experience, especially now we have worked with someone as high calibre as Rob”
Upon completion of his computing course at Solihull College & University Centre Robert will be attending Keele University in September to study Computer Science and hopes to continue to build on his industry experience.
The project with Solihull Police and Council has proven to be an excellent opportunity for Robert and one that he has excelled in, proving his capability within the computing industry. The College is looking forward to working with Solihull Police and Solihull Council to offer more students work experience in the future.
Computing Lecturer at Solihull College & University Centre Fahwad Mahmood commented “Robert has shown tremendous dedication and skills towards this project and it shows how skilled and talented our students are. Work experience is very important as Employers place great emphasis upon the value of skills. Any work experience will add to your skills profile, supplementing those developed during your studies at Solihull College. Placements count as valuable experience if you learn how to articulate the skills you are developing. Well done to Robert and I am sure this will act as a very credible asset he can add to his CV and future employment applications.”
For more information on the courses available at Solihull College & University Centre please visit courses page or call 0121 678 7000.
