As part of its ongoing commitment to the continued development of future talent, Story Contracting has partnered with two Cumbrian secondary schools to offer a taste of what it would be like to work for the award-winning infrastructure company.
Ahead of launching its Graduate and Apprenticeship schemes in the New Year, Story Contracting had engaged with Beacon Hill Community School in Aspatria and Carlisle’s Trinity School in a bid to showcase the variety of roles on offer within the business, and to prepare the school pupils for the type of day-to-day activities they may undertake whilst working for the company.
The first project was an initiative by Beacon Hill to better equip and prepare pupils for life in the world of work. A group of 29 Year 9 pupils participated in an industry project which formed part of the students’ new curriculum ‘LLMAC’ – Local Labour Market Aligned Curriculum. Story Contracting played a key role in this initiative, being only the second employer to run the industry project.
The Aspatria-based students followed the GRIP process (Guide to Rail Improvement Process) used by Story Contracting’s Rail Division to write a problem statement regarding Aspatria’s railway station and SWOT analysis to determine the best new site for the facility. After the six-week project period had ended, the students presented the conclusions of their project to Story staff.
Danny Gee, Deputy Head at Beacon Hill Community School and lead on the LLMAC project, said: “Story Contracting offered our students a fantastic industry project in which they demonstrated excellent progress facilitated by outstanding delivery. Set in a real context familiar to all students, Story Contracting engaged and supported them throughout a tough but enjoyable programme, culminating in an ‘Apprentice’ style pitch to the management team at the Burgh Road office in Carlisle.
“The students thoroughly enjoyed the whole programme which was expertly delivered throughout. The planning, resourcing and time dedicated to the project by Story Contracting resulted in a productive and beneficial experience for a number of inspired students. Beacon Hill looks forward to working together with Story Contracting in the future.”
Story Contracting also recently welcomed a group of six Year 11 students from Trinity School to its head office, where the students were introduced to the company’s existing Year 1 and Year 2 Apprentices and Trainees. The students were given the opportunity to ask the Apprentices and Trainees any burning questions about their roles and were given an insight into what it might be like to join the local business as part of the scheme.
George McMullen, Year 11 Pastoral Tutor at Trinity School, said: “We would like to thank the staff at Story Contracting for accommodating Trinity School. I personally enjoyed myself immensely and was impressed at the direction in which Story Contracting is going. Our students found the session extremely useful – they were a little shy to begin with but it certainly helped having the current Apprentices there. Our students didn’t stop talking and asking questions on the way back to school and the workshop clearly gave an initial insight into the next step for many.”
Craig Hamilton, Technical Training Manager at Story Contracting, said: “I am delighted that Story Contracting has been able to support both Beacon Hill School and Trinity School recently on the LLMAC programme and on the workshop session for future Apprentices/Trainees, respectively. At Story Contracting we are committed to nurturing future talent and encouraging local students to consider a career within our business. We have no doubt that these experiences will stand the pupils in good stead in the years to come.”
