What did you want to do when you were 15, 16, 17 years old?
Are you in that job now?
How many times have you changed career?
Did you go to university? Did you go to college? Did you do an apprenticeship? Did you go straight into work?
So many questions! The answers to these questions are why I’m really excited to be attending the National School College and Leavers show at the ICC Wales on the 6th and 7th March.
The NSCLS is a brilliant opportunity for employers, training providers, universities and Further Education colleges across the UK to showcase everything they have to offer to over 12,000 Year 11, 12 and 13 students from across Wales.
When I was in school (a long time ago!), I was put in a small room with a careers councillor who went through my grades, asked me some questions, and then told me what I was going to do.
I scored the highest in business studies – so that meant I was going to university to study it. There wasn’t a lot of conversation around the types of careers out there, apprenticeships, typical salaries, and the work that would go into those choices. It seemed at the time a very one-track line.
I dropped out of university in my final year due to personal reasons and found a passion for customer service in my part time job in H&M, so decided to work there full time. Over seven years I worked hard and progressed to Department Manager, often covering stores at a Store Manager level and training new department managers. I loved it, but I eventually hit a wall and wanted a change.
I loved talking to people, finding out what they were interested in, interviewing candidates, and training them in the values and culture of H&M. Based on this, I decided to go into recruitment. I did agency recruitment for a year (that was HARD!). There were lots of sales involved, not to mention a pandemic. After my team quit just before and during COVID 19, I decided in-house recruitment was the way forward – and I found my way into social housing.
What I’ve realised now is that it’s completely NORMAL to change jobs, companies, course, track and find your passion at any age. I never knew how many roles were available inside a housing association and even now, I’m still surprised at how many different avenues there are.
Nobody really thinks ‘Oh, I want to work in social housing’ when thinking of career choices. I want to challenge this and show the many different careers available and the benefits, as well as encouraging apprenticeships – so it’s timely to be talking about this during National Apprenticeship Week!
Communities are a huge part of what we do at Newport City Homes and I can’t wait to talk to everyone at the NSCLS about that, how important it is and the customer experience we want to provide.
Not only do we get to speak to students about potential careers within housing, but we also get to attend an open evening which is open to the public. Maybe you’ve been out of work for a while, or don’t feel like you have enough experience. Maybe your personal circumstances make you feel like a full-time job just wouldn’t work for you. The best thing about social housing is that we have a role for everyone – no matter your background, or your history, we’ve seen it all before.
We’ll be at the ICC Wales for the National School College and Leavers event over two days on the 6th and 7th March. You can get all the details here: Wales - The National School + College Leaver Show (nsclshow.co.uk)
If you would be interested in attending and would like to know more, get in touch and have a chat with Jenny at jenny.rawle@newportcityhomes.com!