Work Placement Initiatives.
by Swiss International Scientific School Swiss International Scientific SchoLast year, Swiss International School in Dubai instituted our Work Placement Programme for the first time.The initiative was a great success, and Swiss Private Schools students were able to do real work at companies such as Arcadis, Mövenpick, and Winston & Strawn LLP. Unlike many “internships” where students barely do anything, our Grade 10 students performed research that was actually used, assisted with front office work, and helped company staff with whatever they needed.
Following the success of the
programme, we’ve reinstated it for 2019, with yet another batch of Grade 10
students ready to get very real life working experience with a brand-new set of
companies. Let’s look at what happened for 2019’s Work Placement Programme.
What is the purpose of the Work
Placement Programme?
· To help students
better understand the kind of demands and requirements that the modern
workplace will ask of them
· To give
students the opportunity to practice key soft skills such as critical thinking and creativity, which they’ll need in order to thrive in the 21st
century workforce
· To provide
insight into students’ chosen fields, helping them determine the future of their careers
· To motivate
students to improve and develop a diverse skill set
The companies
Our students were sent to five
different companies – Givaudan, Blue Logic, German Bakery, Nestle, and AW
Rostamani. Here are some of their experiences.
Givaudan
One of our partner companies was
Swiss-based cosmetics, fragrance and flavouring
manufacturer Givaudan. We sent our student Salah El-Danaf here, where he
explored the fragrance and flavours departments at the company’s snack lab,
beverages, and sweets areas. He was able to observe the manufacturing processes
for the industry, perform market research, and even participated in testing,
evaluating, and pricing of products.
At the end of his time in the
Work Placement Programme, Salah gave a presentation on his time and experiences
in the company, and took questions as well. His performance as a participant
was well-received, with Givaudan HR manager Joe John saying, “Salah has shown a
lot of maturity. He was at ease and confident. He would be a great asset to any
company.”
Blue Logic
Another company was Blue Logic, a
digital marketing and design agency. Our student Amr Lanjri was assigned here,
where he ended up being their youngest intern at just 15 years of age. He was
assigned to performing industry research on chatbots, which are becoming an
increasingly popular way for brands to reach out to their audiences. He also
performed intensive testing on company chatbots, using natural-language testing
to ensure that they behaved normally and provided users with the information
they need.
Bakers Kitchen
Five of our students were
assigned to the German-owned café and bakery Bakers Kitchen. They assisted with
tasks in the kitchen, preparing ingredients, organizing store displays, bussing
tables, and serving customers. The owner, Sven, was very impressed with their
work, saying, “It was a very nice experience, they were respectful and they
have done their best to fulfill their training.”
Great Progress
For our second iteration of the
programme, we were able to refine the processes that worked in the past and
streamlined our interaction with the partner businesses. Our students were able
to contribute more than ever, and we hope that they learned a lot from their
stay at each business.
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Created on Jul 15th 2019 02:09. Viewed 316 times.