What is a Traineeship? 

A Traineeship is an education and training Pre-Apprenticeship programme that incorporates work experience that prepares young people aged 19-24 for their future careers by supporting and helping them become ready for the workplace. The programme is designed to fit the individual learners’ needs and will last for a minimum of 6 weeks and a maximum of 6 months, with a work placement, included. The work placement is a minimum of 2 weeks.

These Placements are a great way to find out about different types of jobs and identify your preferences. They may help you find your ideal career or decide what’s not for you.
Whatever the case, there are several ways to ensure that you get the most you can from experience. We have put together some tips on making sure that you get the most out of your work experience.

To get the most out of your placement we recommend you…

1. Be friendly and open

First impressions are essential – you want to be remembered and in a positive way. Make sure you’re on time, have a smile on your face, and greet people properly, whether they are a customer or a colleague.

Once you settle in, you might be asked to attend out of work activities. Use these to make yourself known to people you might not usually interact with, be sure to get your name out there. Try to join in if you are asked to come out for after-work drinks, cinema visits, etc. The social part of office jobs is essential, and if you join in, it shows that you are open to trying out new things and not afraid to approach new people.

If you’re still working from home and most of your meetings are conducted over Zoom. Don’t be afraid to pitch in with ideas, offer your opinion or ask questions. Be confident the others were in your shoes once. We promise it’s not as scary as it first seems.

2. Ask questions

Furthermore, this brings us on nicely to our next point to consider! Ask Questions!
Asking as many questions as possible has its benefits, including making you seem keen to learn and helping you know about the company and work itself. Just make sure you are not asking questions simply for the sake of asking – you should be learning something from the answer.

Show that you care. You may only be there for a short experience you want to prove to the employer that you want to be there and that you are interested in the work.

3. Take notes for everything

You should more or less be writing down everything. By writing things down, you commit them to memory more substantially than if you do not. You are also creating notes you can come back to later to either jog your memory of what you achieved during your work experience or build on your skills in the future.

More than ever, employers are looking for candidates with relevant and impressive work experience. Once you have managed to land a placement, make sure you are genuinely getting all you can from it. If you do, you will be benefiting from it for years to come.

4. Network Network Network

Do some networking before leaving your placement, whether that means a friend invite on LinkedIn, Facebook, or good old mobile phone numbers.

It is essential to use this opportunity to build some connections within your industry. Nothing is ever guaranteed in life; build relationships whatever they might be & you’ll be surprised where they might be of use.

5. Make yourself Indispensable, always be the first to offer to help

In the same vein, make sure you are the one who always offers to lend someone a hand. Whilst making these connections, it’s essential to be of use, go the extra mile and work hard for your colleagues, and these connections will be more concrete. By taking on small tasks for others, you are proving yourself valuable and helpful, and you are likely to learn something new while doing them. However, do not take on too many tasks at once or jobs you are sure you cannot do.

Aim to make yourself indispensable you want to be remembered as the one who always went above and beyond their job description. If your always the one to lend a hand and help others people will remember you for that at that will always go back to management. Meaning it’s more likely that you may be offered full time work after completing your course. Helping in different areas of the business will also help to improve your knowledge of how the business functions and give you the opportunity to learn new skills others might miss.

This summer, taking a traineeship is an excellent opportunity to gain some experience. It has also proven a great strategy for those looking to get into skilled work with little experience. So if you’ve recently finished your A-levels or GCSE’s and your unsure what to do next, Kiwi has many options to get the ball rolling.

We take pride in helping connect companies and organisations to the right people looking to gain experience and develop their skills ready for the workplace of tomorrow!

Get in touch today, we would love to hear from you!

Call us on – Tel: 02380 170380.

Or email us on – Hello@Kiwieducation.co.uk