Our computer science students visited a local employer to explore the applications of their subject in a real business.

Students visited HomeServe, a large company that offers home emergency cover to people across the UK, but their headquarters are right on our doorstep in Walsall. Our students didn’t anticipate to discover so many IT related careers at this business. Students took part in a range of activities from different departments, including Technology and AI, Building a Customer Journey Online and Cyber Security. The whole day helped them to not only meet different employers and learn about new careers, but also to prepare for the application processes ahead, with the event ending on challenge that imitated tasks apprentices may take part in during assessment centres.

Our student’s feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with many recognising that the networking session had increased their confidence communicating, and others saying the event had opened their eyes to new career possibilities. By far the most common piece of feedback we received was that the students were grateful to feel so welcomed by the staff at HomeServe; the students felt they had treated like adults and peers, making meeting new people an enjoyable experience rather than a scary one. HomeServe is widely recognised as one of the top employers in the UK, with 82% saying it is a great place to work- and our students saw this first hand.