Leaving school can be a scary, but exciting time. Young people are faced with a lot of decisions in their final year of education and Futures has visited a number of schools across the East Midlands to try and make those decisions seem a little less frightening.
Lee Pratt, Repairs Academy Manager at Futures often visits schools and colleges to chat about apprenticeships and offer honest and friendly advice about the world of work.
Lee said: “I do talk to the students honestly, which the schools love. Very often we have some great conversations about reality, the bits that schools miss.”
The sessions are usually with students who are not looking to go into further full-time education, and involve Lee talking about his own experiences, and what it’s like to work at Futures and what we look for in an apprentice.
Lee said: “I talk to them about my personal journey and how I got to where I am today to show them we can all do it – as I was exactly the same as them at school! I quiz them on things like how much they think the minimum hourly wage is for an apprentice, and explain what the entry requirements are, as many often think there are none for an apprenticeship!”
Kirk Hallam Community Academy, in Derbyshire said: “This is just what our students needed. A massive thank you to Futures and Lee for attending and delivering a range of apprenticeship presentations. From the onset Lee totally engaged the students by setting both individual and group tasks, causing many students to step out of their comfort zone… plus, his classroom management was amazing!
“The sessions were extremely interactive and students fed back how they felt they could relate to Lee’s personable manner of delivery.”
