Solihull College & University Centre works in partnership with businesses across the region to allow students a taste of the world of work. Computing & IT student, Hassan Ali recently completed his work experience with high street electronics store Maplin – landing a part-time job to fit around his College course as a result.
With work experience now an integrated part of courses, students leave College further prepared for employment. Edd Summers, Store Manager at the Solihull branch of Maplin comments “We believe it’s important to support young people in gaining experience like this. Working with us, students gain experience of customer service, using the store’s in-house systems, plus they get to learn all about what we sell – particularly relevant to a computing student like Hassan. He’s taken everything in his stride and has already become a great addition to the team”.
Hassan particularly enjoyed interacting with customers, something which he credits for improving his communication skills. He learnt to adapt his style when helping different types of customer. He comments “The staff were very encouraging and helped me if I was struggling with anything. Because I felt like I was part of a team, this allowed for me to become more confident in a shorter amount of time”.
Hassan also believes the experience will help in returning to his course at College. He says “I was given a real insight to all the different electronic components involved in IT and other industries – it was amazing!”
It will soon be time for Hassan to decide the specialism he’d like to study on the second year of his course, with Software Development currently his preferred route. On completion he is considering going to university, where he can further specialise in areas of interest such as coding.
To find out more about Computing & IT courses, visit the College’s ‘Try it’ Open Event on Saturday 28th November, 10am-2pm at Blossomfield Campus or visit www.solihull.ac.uk/open event or call 0121 678 7000.
