In January 2017 we welcomed student Megan to join us for a work experience placement here at Smart Works Birmingham. Assisting with admin, Megan wrote this piece about her time with us:
I’m Megan and I am a student at Bournville College completing a Level 3 Diploma in Business Administration and had to complete two weeks’ work experience.
During my time at Smart Works Birmingham I have learnt so much more about the organisation than I already knew. As I currently work downstairs at Northfield Community Partnership, I knew a little bit how Smart Works worked but it is so much more than I thought. Being at Smart Works I have learnt why it was originally set up in London, why it is a very important organisation and I now have knowledge about how the other Smart Works across the country work with each other.
I have been able to view one of the appointments to see how everything works here. I found it very interesting how the stylists go to pick out the clothes they think the clients would like and then when the client went to try on the outfit and was amazed by the outfit the stylists had chosen. The client was very pleased with her appointment and it’s amazing to see what a fantastic effect the service has on people.
I have also completed several tasks which included creating a spreadsheet which was about Temping Agencies within Birmingham and adding their contact details with the names of the organisation. Another job was to input pictures of clients after their dressing, in the clothes they had chosen and put them onto their profiles on the database. I also created a signposting file which has a list of training opportunities and services that could help clients when looking to get back into work. The list includes a short paragraph about the company or training opportunity to show clients what they do and their contact details.
An important job which I was given was to sort out clothes that had been kindly donated. In addition to these jobs I was given a task to look for Women’s Networking Groups and events within Birmingham.
My time here has been great; Joanne is an amazing Manager for Smart Works as she is very welcoming, organised and kind. The volunteers are also very welcoming towards the clients and make them feel very comfortable.
We wish Megan all the best with her studies and look forward to supporting more work experience students in the future.