THERE has never been a greater need for our student generation to gain the practical skills of the workplace. Increasing International competition will take jobs away from those without relevant skills and Kent is already falling behind.

Vicky Pilcher talks to those who are trying to change the fortunes of our future workforce.

IN 10 years time the CBI predicts that unskilled workers face unemployment. Developing nations are producing workers with the training and talent to fill skills gaps in the UK, while offering a more cost-efficient labour market.

In Kent, figures show our workforce is already dangerously high in unskilled workers, with nearly a third holding no qualifications at all.

Education authorities are doing what they can to tackle the situation, but they will not succeed without the help of those who need better-trained staff - businesses.

Work experience and industry has never been an easy relationship and companies are still quick with get-out clauses; too busy, not enough manpower, health and safety and many more.

But some firms in Kent are moving with the times and realise that a student keen to learn their industry is a valuable source of fresh contribution.

Alan Mount, chief executive of Mid Kent Education Business Partnership (EBP), is one of those supporting this contribution.

He said: "More and more companies in the county are realising the potential in students and there are some brilliant placement schemes out there. But we could still do with more coming on board."

Mr Mount’s Mid Kent team place around 1,300 students a year, a total rising to nearly 13,000 through the work of the other Kent EBP offices.

He stresses the matching process is now a highly considered one. An in-depth application process seeks out exact aspirations, while students are also encouraged to attend an interviews with their prospective company, introducing them to real job-seeking experience and also reducing the likelihood of an unhappy match.

Through the dedicated work of teams like these, more and more employers are discovering the benefit of work placements.

Example one:

Gareth Davies, a Year 11 student from the Cornwallis School in Maidstone is one of Mr Mount’s students, who recently discovered that workplace experience can offer amazing opportunities.

Through the Mid Kent EBP, Gareth was selected by the International Space School Educational Trust (ISSET) to visit the Kennedy and Johnson Space Centres in America, travelling to Houston and Florida and meeting the astronauts.

During the trip, Gareth met with NASA scientists and the director of the Johnson Space Centre, George Abbey.

As guests of the programme, Gareth and the other students were able to watch and join astronauts training in mock-ups of the space shuttles, while also sitting at the consoles of the original Mission Control.

He said: "This trip was the most amazing experience of my life and was a brilliant opportunity to do and see things that most people will never get to see or do in their lifetimes."

Example two

Another organisation linking students to business is the STEP programme.

Business Link Kent (BLK) is championing the scheme, and this summer took two work placement students, Laura Wheaton, 24, of Tonbridge, and Ben Howe, 21, of Hildenborough to work on specific projects.

Ben is studying Geography and Management at Leeds and heard about STEP from his university careers department. He was given the task of setting up processes for the Sustainable Eco-Enterprise Programme.

He said: "My work involved database collation, writing questionnaires and letters, business and stakeholder profiling, as well as drafting an induction pack for anyone new to the scheme - and conducting a critical analysis of the project.”

Laura chose to work with BLK because its project matched with her Marketing and Business course at University College of Northampton.

Laura was responsible for producing a marketing report and plan for the next 12 months to raise awareness in Kent of the STEP programme itself.

She said: "I've learnt a lot of business skills from this project - writing reports for a company requires different skills from writing essays at university and I've never actually written a marketing plan before."

Both students praised the STEP programme, saying they would recommend to it to their peers.

Keith Casson, BLK's innovation and technology adviser, said: "As a host company we were able to take advantage of the skills of two intelligent undergraduates focussing on specific projects which we did not have the manpower to complete ourselves.

“The students received a weekly allowance of £175 pro rata and the experience of working in a business environment.

"STEP is a win-win situation for all parties involved. By matching highly skilled undergraduates with local businesses for challenging projects, the students get an opportunity to experience the real world of work and develop their expertise; the businesses benefit tremendously from their innovative ideas."

Contacts:

* Mid Kent Education Partnership are looking for teachers and students to take part in next year's ISSET programme. For further information contact Alan Mount on 01622 763004.

* STEP traditionally runs during July and August but more flexible full- or part-time placements from four weeks to 12 months can be arranged. The work undertaken by the students is tailored to the needs of the host company.

For more information about STEP go to www.step.org.uk or contact Carol Smith on 0845 644 4601.