Our newest recruit, Beth Edley (Sales, Marketing & Projects Trainee) has written a blog explaining the success of Summer Academy 2022 which saw over 30 students across two weeks be introduced to the world of work within the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Manufacturing) sector.

This summer The Work-wise Foundation delivered two Summer Academies for students aged 14-18 in South Yorkshire where they learnt all about employability skills and the world of work in the STEM sectors.

Day 1: We kickstarted both weeks of summer academy at AESseal where our students learnt all about the company and what career opportunities that they have to offer. Our students got to know each other and we introduced them to communication skills which is an important skill to have when going into the working world. We also had an interesting guided tour which showed our students a lot about the working world within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). On this first day we did some team building exercises which the young people loved to get involved with.

Day 2: Continuing with the world of work journey on Summer Academy 2022, we spent our second day at CTI on week 1 and our students on week 2 spent the day at Metlase. Our students learnt all about employability skills and what is important about being employable. On this day our delegates heard about employees’ careers journeys and went on a site tour. We also did some more team building exercises.

Day 3: On this day we spent it at Magna Science Adventure Centre with The British Army, 4^th Infantry Brigade, the army put our students through their paces with leadership and teambuilding skills. Towards the end of the day our students had some time working in small groups to create a game representing STEM to present to the Dragons at Cutlers’ Hall.

Day 4: For our fourth and final day of Summer Academy our groups spent a day at The Cutlers’ Hall where they faced the dragons and presented their games. They also had a chance to have mock interviews with our employers who joined us for the day. We received the grand tour of the venue and learnt about the interesting history behind the building. To complete the day, we had a graduation and invited parents to celebrate the achievements of the weeks.

We would like to thank our students for taking part and our volunteers and supporting businesses from the two weeks; CBE+, AESSEAL, Castings Technology International, Metlase, Magna Science Adventure Centre, The British Army, The Cutlers’ Hall, AMG Chrome Ltd, The Learning Community, Sheffield Tooling Company, and SBD Apparel.