19/06/2020
Another successful year for Sociology Work Experience students at the Employability Awards
This has been another successful year for our Sociology Work Experience students at the Employability Awards, with Kyra-Lamar Arneta winning the LAS Short-term Placement Student of the Year Award and Sajida Khanom winning third place in the Explore Teaching Placement Student of the Year Award. The Level 5 Work Experience module offers students a chance to choose their own placement, which ideally is related to a possible career choice after graduating. The placement provides an opportunity to apply graduate level skills gained from doing their degree in Sociology or Combined Honours in real work situations. The students are encouraged to work independently but with support from the module leader, Engage officer at the University and their manager/mentors in the workplace. Increasingly, employers are favouring graduates who have completed work placements whilst at university and one of the ways that Westminster has promoted employability is through the Employability Awards Scheme which offers a number of awards to the placement students in several categories.
Kyra-Lamar Arneta, a Sociology student, completed her placement at the City of Westminster College as a teaching assistant via the University’s Explore Teaching Scheme. She said that she “learnt how to create and execute an effective lesson... and the importance of organisation, time-management and communication”. The experience has confirmed that she does want to go into teaching when she graduates. After receiving her prize money of £200, Kyra said
“I am very honoured. I am beyond grateful to be recognised for my work during my placement.”
Sajida Khanom, a Sociology student, completed her placement as a teaching assistant at a secondary school and her mentor nominated her for the award based on the quality of her work there. Sajida stated that:
The work experience module equipped me with more knowledge about all workplaces. I learned various ways to adapt my current skills and highlight the gaps missing within my skills set. Reflecting on my current skills at the time enabled me to develop new skills to add to my CV. The work experience module has prepared me for what to expect when applying for jobs and going for interviews. These are just some of the few things I learned in this module.
Sajida also expressed her amazement at winning the £100 prize and said:
I felt really proud of myself for winning this award […] This is a great achievement and I will hold onto it closely.
Both students offered advice to current students to make use of the university’s careers’ service, Engage and take advantage of this module and the Explore Teaching scheme and other opportunities to find out what you need to do when looking for work and filling your skills’ gaps. I am also proud of all the work experience students who learn so much from taking this module and I am especially proud of Kyra-Lamar and Sajida.
Umit Cetin
