Shufflebottom opens the door to potential employees of the future
At Shufflebottom we have long happily opened our doors here at HQ in Carmarthenshire to welcome young people on work experience. We understand that it is vital to offer much-needed industry-led experience out of the classroom to develop skills to transition into the world of work. Importantly, it makes sound economic sense for a construction business such as ours as those young people are our local Carmarthenshire talent pipeline and might one day play their part in contributing to the success of our business, the local and national economy.
Under our wing
In line with our social value commitments, and our commitments to the 5% Club we have recently hosted four Carmarthenshire students on work placement here under the wing of experienced members of our #teamofsteel. During their time with us they have been learning about the day-to-day skills needed to keep a £25 million steel-framed buildings’ operation at the top of its game.
Deep insights
Each of the four students had a particular focus at the start of the work experience: Oliver Sheehan, a year 11 student (Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth) had an engineering focus, as did Arthur Carter (Ysgol Bro Myrddin) and Jac Ifan Owens (Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth) both A-level students, while Gwen Morgan, a 6th form student (Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth) was interested in office work and Health & Safety.
During their time with us, it’s been interesting to see their focus consolidate as they gained insights into what those perceived roles actually entailed. That’s what makes work experience so vital in that it shifts perceptions and offers on-the-job knowledge into the reality of the work, as well as networking and CV-building opportunities, vital for their future.
For Shufflebottom, it is also satisfying that the perception that construction is a 'male-dominated' profession is changing and that we are welcoming more and more women to get involved in our sector and explore opportunities. All four young people have enjoyed access to the many aspects of our business, whether it was learning about design, detailing and management of our building projects in the drawing office, absorbing information about the production process on the factory floor, discovering what’s involved in the sales, marketing and administration process, and learning about health and safety or technical design which are at the heart of our operation.
In their own words
All four students have been positively informed and changed by the experience, opening their eyes to the construction industry, and to themselves. Here’s a selection of what they had to say:
I had experience in the drawing office and learning about H & S risks, the production process and quality control…I found the experience in engineering and construction more interesting than I thought it would be. If other students are considering a work experience placement at Shufflebottom, I would tell them to pay attention to the people teaching you!
Oliver
Shufflebottom has made me realise that engineering is what I really want to do now as a career. I enjoyed time in the factory downstairs. That's where my real interest is…I would tell other people to go for the experience at Shufflebottom. Staff are so friendly and were happy to show me how things operate. Great workplace and a fantastic company.
Jac Ifan
Thank you/Diolch yn fawr
We’d like to say a big thank you to Oliver, Arthur, Jac Ifan and Gwen for being with us and we hope they enjoyed their time here. Who knows, we’d like to think that we might see them again one day if they are considering a future career in engineering or construction and they would like to be part of our wonderful #teamofsteel.
Finally, we’d like to thank members of our #teamofsteel here at Shufflebottom HQ for giving of their time and expertise so generously to the Work Experience students. Diolch to Ben Thomas, Operations Director; former MD, Alex Shufflebottom; Rob Coleman, Drawing Office Manager; Peter Dixon, H&S Manager; and Eddie Roche, General Foreman. Diolch yn fawr.