After a highly successful placement with once of the largest organisations in Nottingham, BTEC Level 3 Graphic and Digital Design student Matthew successfully secured a job with Nottingham City Council.
A prime example of a Confetti student ‘Doing It For Real’, hear what Matthew had to say about his experiences during the placement and what he’s taken away from it.
Hi Matthew! What course are you studying at Confetti?
BTEC Level 3 Graphic & Digital Design.
What made you want to take part in a work placement?
I decided to take part in a work placement for the opportunities it gives me, having work experience on your CV makes you stand out against the crowd of people applying for the same job. I wanted to have some real-life experience to boost my confidence for when I apply for my first job.
What was the best thing about your placement, and the most challenging thing?
The best thing about my placement was the opportunity that I was given to use my creativity and skills to develop an online shop for the Woodthorpe Park Plant Shop. I designed and delivered this project and worked with colleagues at Nottingham City Council to achieve a great final result. Having great responsibility to develop an online shop, and then seeing hundreds of sales worth over £20,000 come through and happy customers leaving reviews was very rewarding.
The most challenging moments of my placement were developing my social skills, trying to understand what kind of website someone needed, and then designing the content to suit its purpose. Secondly, getting used to the workflow was challenging but thankfully my colleagues were understanding because I was on work experience.
Have you been able to secure any work through your placement with the company?
I was offered the opportunity to work as a casual role, which suited my situation perfectly. I wasn’t obliged to do any work at all, but the extra work I did was paid for. This meant that I could earn money on holidays and weekends whenever I had spare time.
If someone was thinking of taking a placement while studying, would you recommend it to them?
I would 100% recommend working whilst studying, the main priority is to be organised with assignment deadlines. Try not to leave your assignments until the last week, spread the work out over a longer duration of time. Going on work placement meant that I spent my two days off college being productive, and taking the next stepping stone to build my career.
T-Level Work Placement Manager at Confetti, Lucy Greaves, was thrilled to hear about Matthew’s success following his placement.
“Matt committed himself wholeheartedly to the project. He clearly communicated his work aspirations and skills leading to him being matched with Nottingham City Council. Matt’s professional work ethic and quality of work means that he is exceeding the expectations initially set as part of the T Level Work Placement Pilot.
We are proud of the level of professionalism, motivation and commitment that the students are demonstrating. Students are placed within a variety of businesses, including: Stencil Creative, Needy Cat Games, UNiDAYS, Creative Asset, Hex Productions, LeftLion, Dizzy Ink, I’m Not From London, ATG, DW Print, Metronome and Ignite Futures.”
Well done to Matthew, and we look forward to seeing what our other students get up to on their placements in future.
