Meet the Work Experience Team

Hearing from past students is always fantastic. We love to find out what they’ve been up to since leaving MK College and hearing them reflect on their time with us. Preparing students for the world of work is very important to us as a college.

Work experience, industry collaborations and live project briefs are just some of the ways that our students get the opportunity to develop their professional skills before entering employment or continuing their study.

That’s why we were thrilled to hear from past Graphic Design student, Rachel Sharp, whose work experience with Rightmove’s design studio while at College, turned into a full-time job offer!

Rachel’s Story

‘I studied Level 3 in Graphic Design at Milton Keynes College which I then continued for an extra year to complete my HND. Looking back at my time on the course, I can honestly say this was the first stepping-stone to an ongoing Graphic Design career.

This course allowed me a great opportunity (which I am still very grateful for), to take part in work experience with Rightmove, with who the College have a partnership.  I was given the chance to work closely with Rightmove’s in-house Design Studio and used this time to take in and learn as much as possible.

This eventually led to an internship possibility which I was fortunate to land, then a full-time position on the Rightmove Graphic Design team. Milton Keynes College was the beginning of my journey and the reason I was able to gain the opportunities I did.

The years I studied at the college not only prepared me in my skill-set but also helped to mould me as a person and to equip me for what was to come. Thank you for the continued support of my tutors who encouraged me throughout.’

We caught up with MK College Graphic Design lecturer, Dan Vine, to hear more about the fantastic working relationship MK College have with Rightmove and how it continues to benefit out students.

I remember going to the Rightmove offices with a view to firming up some work experience for my students and upon walking into the design studio, seeing around 5 of my past students! Alongside the Design Studio Manager at Rightmove, Nicky Pinto-Perez (also a past MK College student), we put in place a period of work experience that our students could take part in. This involves working on live briefs with Rightmove’s design studio, for two days a week which lasts for a few months. During this time, the team at Rightmove assess our student’s skills and offer Internships to students who stand out. These Internships can then lead on to full-time positions – Rachel Sharp being a great example.

Over the past year, Rightmove have been excellent at providing the same work experience opportunities to our students virtually. Students are put through their paces and assigned to live briefs once their skillset has been assessed. This provides our students with a great deal of experience with things like printed posters and digital banners, providing them with excellent pieces for their portfolios once their placement has finished.

Graphic Design as an industry is constantly evolving and we’re redefining the subject with each academic year. Because of the great need for digital arts-based professionals, within arts-based and non-arts-based companies, I would always advocate that if you have a passion for design, the courses that we offer at MK College will give you a very realistic, vocational based foundation – more so than A Levels ever could. I think this stems from the fact that the people and tutors who teach our courses are all industry professionals themselves, so we set up our lessons to reflect a working design studio.

If you’d like to join our next cohort, work on live briefs and see where your studies could lead, why not explore our range of Creative and Digital Arts courses. As well as Graphic Design, there are pathways available in Fashion & Textiles, Photography, Performing Arts, Animation and many more. It’s time to turn your passion into a career.

Ashleigh Rudd has been on a work placement at MK Hospital for around six months. Currently studying Level 3 Health and Social Care, she is just about to complete 500 hours of valuable work experience.

Having worked on a variety of wards, Ashleigh has been shadowing nurses and health care assistants, and has learnt to perform a variety of tasks on real patients.

Ashleigh’s Story

“I’ve always wanted to work with children, and I can’t think of anything better or more rewarding to do as a job than helping poorly children get better. I thought about going to Sixth Form but I knew that having to take different A-Levels wouldn’t offer me what I wanted”, explained Ashleigh.

Health and Social Care students are required to complete their hours at a variety of work placements. In addition to MK Hospital, students have worked at MK Snap, YMCA, dementia-specific care homes and many more local establishments. This offers students the chance to find out what life working in the industry is really like, and to help them decide which path they want to go down.

On a typical day at the hospital, Ashleigh is paired with a Health Care Assistant that she shadows throughout the day, helping with things like taking and reporting observations of blood pressure, oxygen levels and general health, making beds, assisting with serving meals, interacting with patients, and much more.

What have you learnt?

“I’ve learnt how to deal with a wide variety of patients from watching how the nurses and staff interact. Everyone is different, and you have to learn how to read people’s body language and facial expressions to find out how they’re really feeling and how you should approach the situation. People can sometimes become aggressive or violent, which I found intimidating at first I’ve learnt how to deal with different situations appropriately”.

“Ashleigh has matured massively, she has come out the other side a different person. Not only has she grown in confidence in her skills, but in herself and her people skills. Six months ago she was shy and timid, but now she’s able to interact and work alongside senior nurses and managers with confidence in her ability”, commented Claire Jelley from the Private Education Department at MK Hospital.

Students on placements at MK Hospital have also worked alongside staff on the Surgical and Paediatric wards, giving them the best chance to scope out where they might like to work in the future.

Ashleigh has been offered a place to study Child Nursing at three different universities and is currently deciding which one to take up.

Interested in Health and Social Care? We have Advanced and Intermediate courses available, as well as other related subject areas. Take a look at our course finder for more information.

One of the main components that makes college different is that work experience is a vital part of your course. In fact, in the future, it will be required to pass! Whether you’re studying Business, Engineering or Childcare, you will be spending a big chunk of your time on various Industry Placements. You will experience what it’s like to work in your desired field first hand, learning and working alongside real business owners and people in industry.

Hear from a student

We caught up with Harry McCauley, a Personal Training student at MK College, during a session with his mentor, Kelvin Dwumfuo at KDPT. Harry has been learning from Kelvin, taking part and giving advice to clients during Personal Training sessions at a variety of gyms and fitness centres, including Snap Fitness.

Harry knew he always wanted to be self-employed as a personal trainer. He said: “I never liked the idea of having a 9 to 5 office job, but the idea of helping, educating and giving people the confidence they need to change their lives through health and fitness has always been important to me”.

“Harry has grown not only in confidence but his in his understanding of the role of a trainer. He has gone from shadowing classes to running his own over his time with me”, commented Kelvin. “I decided to take students on at my business because I know first-hand the benefits of learning outside of the classroom”.

How is it organised?

Work experience placements are often organised by tutors and dedicated staff at MK College. Employers are looking for applicants with real experience in industry, which is something work experience opportunities guarantee. Students have reviews and are assessed by their workplace trainers, making sure they are on track and meeting targets. Although the thought of working alongside professionals in a new environment can be a bit intimidating, the benefits of doing just that are worth the nerves.

“This experience has opened up so many opportunities for me, not just to learn more but also in my career. I’ve learnt that it’s important to stay up to date with new trends in the industry, and to keep learning as a PT. My advice to other students taking on work experience would be to take as many opportunities as possible within your industry, as it opens up so many opportunities and really improves your future”, commented Harry.

“Don’t be afraid of failure or making mistakes”, advises Kelvin. “There will be a few along the way, learn from them and put things in place to make sure they are not repeated. Secondly, enjoy what you do and do it wholeheartedly”.