Work Experiences - Tech Cornwall

The World of Work

During a pupils time in education they should be allowed time away from the educational establishment into the world of work. These opportunities should be embraced by students as the time to discover industries and jobs perhaps for the first time.

Students working on a Mission to Mars Work Experience

Tech Cornwall has as a primary goal the provision of the talent pipeline for the software industry in Cornwall. We visit pupils in primary schools, secondary schools and colleges. But those visits are only for a very short period of time. A work experience provides the students the chance to really engage with the industry and get a much better understanding of what working in technology is really all about.

Why Work Experience?

There are a number of reasons why a student should take part in at least one work experience during their time at school. And we feel that they should experience work more than once to really understand what it is that they might want to do in the real world. Some of the gains from experiencing a week out from school learning are:

Experience working with new people.
Putting learning into real world use.
Meeting and connecting with companies and individuals.
Discovering the pathways into work required.
Understanding the needs of the industry and the requirements to work within it.
Learning how to work to a defined requirement and time schedule.
The realisation that maybe the job isn’t what you want.

Over the years a number of students have passed through the doors of Mission to Mars and are now working in the industry. You can learn more about them from this article “Stories of Success“. These are only some of the ones we know about. There are others not mentioned and others we perhaps have not heard from. But this is the reason Tech Cornwall provides these experiences, school visits and other experiential offerings in technology. To provide the new talent for a growing, local industry.

Award Winning Work Experience

The Mission to Mars has been run since 2014. It is a Platinum Providers Award work experience through the Cornwall Council Work Experience scheme. It was also the Best Education Initiative 2019 at the Tech South West Awards and is also a finalist in 2022. The awards ceremony is November 10th at Aerospace Bristol so wish is luck!

Starting in 2023 Tech Cornwall will be providing four new work experiences in tech. These will cover different technologies and will appeal to a wider cohort of students. Students may apply for more than one experience and even repeat an experience if they really enjoy it. Quite a few students have done just that.

Register Your Interest and Application Forms

We have in planning two work experiences for 2024. During the Spring half term, and the new Festival of Tech, there will be a short Mission to Mars. Then in July for the Cornwall Year 10 work experience week there will be another. Applications for both of these we hope to have open early November.