Responsibilities and Duties: put data into a database, painted a giant 6ft love heart tube, answered telephone calls, helped get a birthday party ready which included getting on a bus and driving round Bristol picking people up from hotels

Health and Safety issues: I was shown where the fire exit was and told not to stand underneath the loading door when they were opening and closing it.

Special Clothing: I only needed to wear a black trousers and a Claire Jayne top on the day when we were out on a job, the rest of the time I wore whatever I wanted.

I already work for the person that I went to work for but in future I wouldn’t mind staying on as a full time employee since it was fun and different.

Charlotte Maudsley - 2003

Responsibilities & duties: photocopying, filing, marking films, checking dummies, checking advances, scanning and saving artwork and airbrushing artwork.

Health & safety issues: none

Special clothing: none

Daily diary

• Monday: Felt nervous about meeting new people but by the end of the day I was fine.
• Tuesday: didn’t have much work to do so went off early for lunch, in the afternoon was very bored and the work I was given was too easy.
• Wednesday: went to a different department (production) and the people there were really nice. Had lots of work to do and was shown around.
• Thursday: Was bored again today. It was very busy in the office so they couldn’t give me enough work to do.
• Friday: went back to the editorial department and worked with different people. A lady showed me the two other offices (Sales and money) and had a chat with a lady who showed me how sales worked abroad. Lunchtime was fun as we ordered pizza. Went home early because I had a long journey home.

Holly Exley - 2003

In my work experience I worked 5 days, Monday-Friday, from 8:30am - 5:00pm.

I worked at Flaxpits lane dental practice, it was a good experience.

Most of the time I sat and watched different operations, i also worked on the reception computers and filed files in the cabinet.

At lunchtime I always made the tea and coffees and ate my lunch.

If another dentist in the practice had an interesting, gory operation to do then I would go and watch it with the patients permission.

When a new patient came in I would have to introduce myself and ask if they minded me being there.

• On Monday I watched the dentists do check-ups mostly and a basic introduction to the dentists and the surgery.
• On Tuesday I worked on the reception, on the computers.
• On Wednesday I worked on reception again, but this time I filed files.
• On Thursday I visited the laboratory and saw how the dentures and false teeth were made.
• On Friday I watched more dentistry and at the end got to make a bouncy ball out of gum mould and drill some dentures removing filings and decay, not on a real person.

I think I could consider this to be a career for the future.

Jordan Jones

I know Chris Simmons and his family as they’ve been friends since I was 5 months old. When I was there I had more responsibility than I would have had, as it is the place that I work at any way. In the morning there was many different jobs for example I had to help move some tyres so there was space for the silage bales that were being brought in.

From 1 o clock to 5, I was milking with Lionel (Chris’s father). The things that I had to be careful with were the slurry pit, and to watch out for the moving machines. On the farm it’s a very dangerous place and as long as you stay alert and use your brain it’s easy to work with. The ideal clothing is to wear something old and if you have them, overalls and wellies.

Rob Scothern - 2003

For work experience I worked at the ford garage with one person.

Jobs I did:

• Services and MOT’s (oil change etc.) , repairs (brakes, replacing disc pads, air conditioning, changing alternators etc.) and road tests.

I had to wear overalls and steel toecap shoes.

Jamie Hodson

Responsibilities and Duties: help dress patients wounds, filled out menu’s, made the teas, made beds, observe physio, fed an elderly man who had mental problems

Health and Safety issues or Special Clothing: a white coat, gloves, plastic apron, had to wash hands after dealing with patients and wash my hands in non-alcoholic liquid that dissolved.

Daily Diary

• Monday: Felt rather nervous to start but after I met the people who I was going to work with I felt better. The first day I helped with the teas and made a few beds whilst observing how things worked on the ward. I also introduced myself to some of the patients. It felt like a long day; 9:00am – 4:00pm
• Tuesday: By the second day most staff knew who I was and so I felt more comfortable. I went round the hospital accompanied by a physio observing what was involved in that type of job because this is what I am interested in becoming. This particular day was my favourite because I got to help and watch what I was interested in. After lunch I stayed back on ward 30 and stayed round with the nurses again – it was a little boring to be honest.
• Wednesday: Wednesday was similar to Tuesday in the way that I did the same things.
• Thursday: I went round to some of the patients and got to know them. In the afternoon I didn’t do a lot – I found the afternoons were a lot quieter than the mornings.
• Friday: Being my last day I didn’t really do a lot all day. At the end of the day they let me leave early – only by 10 minutes though.

Over all I enjoyed having a change from school and seeing the real world.

Sarah Sheppard - 2003

I helped with deliveries, I did some of the displays, I helped choose some jewellery from the representative to sell in the shop, I assisted while dresses were being tried on, and also general shop duties.

• MONDAY: I experienced my first fitting of dresses. I helped by pinning the dresses, talking to the families and giving my opinion of the dresses.
• TUESDAY: The jewellery representative visited us, and I helped pick out lots of jewellery to sell in the shop.
• WEDNESDAY: I unpacked deliveries and did the delivery checks. I then had to do some paper work to organise the dresses to the right brides.
• THURSDAY: A teacher visited me. I priced and displayed the new jewellery in the window.
• FRIDAY: For my last day, I finished my display in the windows by re-dressing the manikins with the new dresses that had been delivered. I got to choose my favourite dresses and jewellery to display in the window.

I enjoyed my work experience as it gave me ideas of what I want to be when I'm older and I also found it a nice, friendly place to work in.

Katie Wynn

I was placed in Kingsbridge in Devon with my uncle's plumbing business.

When I was working with him I generally helped him in everything he did so I got a big insight of everything to do with plumbing. On the first and second day we had to fit a new bathroom, which was fun. On Wednesday I went off with one of my uncles employees to a house extension where we had to move some pipes for the radiators, then we went to a house where he was having his whole house re-plumbed. We also went there on Thursday then on Friday we went on all the call outs that he hadn’t done all week. If you have a relative in the trade industry I would go because you will get too do a lot more than if you go somewhere that you don’t know.

Dan Low - 2003

Monday

• On day one I was answering telephone calls and replying to e-mails. I learnt about office life and about what was expected of me in a working place like an office @ Gloucestershire County Council.

Tuesday

• On Tuesday I was working in human resources were I produced a vacancy schedule and e-mailed it to everyone in the building so that all computers in the building had a copy
• I also e-mailed the head of department for HR to organize a big event for Friday, which is the launch of the disability network at shire hall at Gloucester.

Wednesday

• On Wednesday I worked with information systems and found out how the computers were programmed and they were programmed at a company called “sekuricore” when I went to visit the company I was amazed to see haw small the building was, it consisted of a small office with a stack of computers which were being programmed at that very moment.

Thursday

• I was preparing for the launch of the disability network for Friday. I prepared delegate packs for the participants at the conference. I also produced and supplied badges for the guests, displaying the guests name and their occupation.

Friday

• On Friday I went to the British energy Building in Gloucester where I was involved in the Conference, which lasted for about 3 hours, overall it was a successful day.

Overall it was a good week where I learned a lot to do with office work and what was expected of me in a work environment.

S McGuire - 2003

I really felt I had learned a lot while I was there especially about conveyencing law, probates and wills. I mainly worked with the solicitor for most of the week which I found very interesting.

Being a solicitor for my future career I would seriously consider.

S Watson - 2003