Studying at college can be an incredibly stressful time for young people and coupled with job searching, it can seem like an overwhelming minefield. The team at The Sheffield College recognise this and have launched a new service dedicated to helping their students flourish, in both education and the workplace.
The Employment Services Agency was launched in September 2023 and is dedicated to working with businesses throughout the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to provide students at the college with part-time jobs, volunteering opportunities and possibly full-time positions to help them launch their desired careers after completing their studies.
“It’s a golden handshake. Not only are we helping students become financially independent and facilitate them to stay at the college and get their education, we’re also helping them to boost their cross-career employability skills.”
“As a college, we identified that students were leaving early for some reason, and we needed to understand why,” explained Scott Cotterill, project manager of the Employment Services Agency. “So we asked the students and found out that it was because a lot of them needed a job to stay in education, or to progress further on to higher education.
“We needed to do something, and then came the idea, why don’t we make the Employment Service Agency?”
The agency works with over 50 businesses in the local area to provide students with potential positions, including the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, Gulliver’s Valley Theme Park, the Sheffield Steelers and Sheffield City Council. The College have recently made a landmark partnership with Meadowhall Shopping Centre, providing students with opportunities for retail work in the over 100 stores it houses.
“It’s a golden handshake,” Scott adds. “Not only are we helping students become financially independent and facilitate them to stay at the college and get their education, we’re also helping them to boost their cross-career employability skills whilst helping the South Yorkshire job market as well.
“As a college, we identified that students were leaving early for some reason, and we needed to understand why.”
“We’re helping students build a CV and a personal profile, understand the process of a formal interview, as well as how to give a good impression to potential employers. And for businesses, this is a free consultancy.
“You’ve got about 1500 students at your hands, and if you’ve got a role or opportunity that would be suitable, The Sheffield College will advertise it, find the right student and it won’t cost you a penny.”
The agency’s team of experts are on call to provide one-to-one support to help every student, no matter their situation, thrive at the college, complete their studies and successfully progress onto a secure future path, whether that be into higher education or getting straight to climbing the rungs of the job ladder.
For any potential employers who would like to get involved with the college’s Employment Services Agency and advertise an opportunity for 16-19 year-olds within their business, you can find out more information at www.sheffcol.ac.uk/employment-services-agency
