Last Wednesday, Heather Clarke (our Management Assistant) and I attended Sheffield’s annual Apprenticeships showcase event in order to promote the company and potential upcoming apprenticeship opportunities in the Wessex North office.
The event was held in the historic setting of Cutlers’ Hall, a Grade II* Listed property in the centre of Sheffield, which proved to be a fabulous venue (and quite a fitting backdrop to talk about the city’s archaeology!). Around 80 local, national and international companies attended the event, bringing with them around 300 apprenticeship opportunities for young people in the local area. The event was particularly targeted at 16−18 year olds, with most of the 1200 attendees accompanied by staff from local schools and colleges.
Wessex Archaeology’s stall was nestled within the ‘Construction and Armed Forces’ room, allowing us to interact with a broad range of students, many of whom expressed surprise at our presence at the event! It provided an excellent opportunity to both engage directly with young people, in the process of making important decisions about their future career path, as well as allowing us to sample the mood from teachers and tutors regarding their students’ attitudes and opinions on a career in the heritage sector. The concept of ‘Historic Environment’ apprenticeships was met with great interest, as was the possibility of working in Business Administration within both a third sector and heritage organisation. I think we definitely opened a few minds to the possibility of being able to develop their administration skills whilst also working within a field that holds personal interest.
The event was well organised (by Sheffield City Council) and we thoroughly enjoyed the day. This is the 5th year that the event has run, and we would certainly be pleased to return. Two schools in attendance have subsequently invited Wessex North to take part in their career days, giving us another opportunity to showcase the wide, varied and interesting career paths available to those working within the Historic Environment sector.