Eastern Colleges Group students are encouraged to uptake work experience.

At West Suffolk College and across the Eastern Colleges Group (that includes Abbeygate Sixth Form, One Sixth Form and University Studies at West Suffolk College), students are actively encouraged and supported in their efforts to gain work experience opportunities. This week, 16 year old Elliot Deverell from Bury St Edmunds - who studies on a level three travel and tourism course - reflects on an opportunity he managed to secure working at an airport in the Middle East.

Earlier this year I was given the opportunity to travel to Saudi Arabia where I was given a week long work placement at the Jeddah international airport. As part of my course, I have to accrue over 30 hours of work experience. This was actually the second time I had been given the chance to work at a place (Saudi) that sees over 35 million people pass through their doors every year. Last time I went, I had been given tasks to do here and there but this time, I had a real structure to my work. I’ve always been interested in aviation as both my parents were or are still working in this industry. I’m lucky as my dad has a senior position at the airport in Saudi and this is how I got the work experience connection.

The culture change was interesting – everything runs by time of prayer and the working week is not a Monday to Friday. The week in Saudi starts on a Sunday and ends on a Thursday. When I was there, the people had great respect for me and I’m hoping to go back and add to my CV by gaining even more new skills next year. This experience has confirmed to me that I want to work in an airport and I’m very thankful for this opportunity. I was there for a week and I did a lot of tasks – each day I looked at a new sector of the airport and I worked on a specific project with the customer service team aimed at improving the experience of all those who were travelling – specifically in the check in area. 

I spoke to employees, observed what was going on and at the end of the week I presented my findings to the senior team. Some of my ideas will be implemented into the day to day running of the airport so it was great to learn all these skills and be involved in something that was real. It’s really sparked an interest in me in the sense that I’d love to work in customer service in the future.

I ended up sharing my experience to others on my course and I think this opportunity my well end up helping to shape my future career. Later in the month, I’m going to Poland with others on my course to find out more about the culture, the people, the history and the travel industry in this part of the world. Covid meant that everyone has been a bit reluctant to travel, but the industry has been bouncing back which is great for me as this is an industry that I want to work in.

Other students at West Suffolk College have gained work experiences with Hollywood directors, learnt from a former producer of The Beatles and had sessions with Michelin Star chefs.