05-03-2015
On Wednesday 4th March, three staff members of
Dovecote Park went to visit Plumstead Manor School in Greenwich, London, to speak to
a group of over 200 female students about their career paths, and their
experience working in the beef industry.
On Wednesday 4th March, Jane Braithwaite (Commercial), Laura
Masters (Livestock) and Rachel
Marston (Accounts) attended a Careers Day at Plumstead Manor School, an all girls secondary school in Greenwich,
London, where they spoke to a group of 210 Year 8 students regarding their
experiences in the meat industry, and how they had progressed in their careers
up to this point.
The students were seated in groups of 10 and the Dovecote
Park representatives, along with staff from various other companies, circulated
the groups in order to speak to and interact with the students directly, and
give them the opportunity to ask questions regarding their careers.
Laura Masters,
Dovecote Park’s Fields Person for Midlands and South East stated;
‘As I
told the students, it is crucial to enjoy what you do, as you will spent a lot
of your adult life at work! It was great to see how they took an interest in
where their food comes from, and how sales in Waitrose had a direct impact on
what I do in my job. They were also interested in learning about the protocol
side of our business, and the importance of building and maintaining strong business relationships –
as I do on a daily basis with our farmers. I was really impressed by the range of career aspirations and the drive
to succeed that I saw with these students’
Jane Braithwaite, National Accounts Executive, said of her experience of the event:
I’m not sure who was more nervous, the students or myself
stepping back into a school to face 200 13-14 year olds! All the students were really keen to ask
questions and understand our careers, we faced a whole range of questions from
‘What key skills should a mentor have’ to ‘What are your biggest regrets’ and
the most common of them all ‘How much do you earn’!
The key message from us had to be make decisions based on
what is right for you, most importantly enjoy what you are doing and therefore
more likely to succeed.
I thoroughly enjoyed the day, not only did it give me
time to reflect on my own career and choices made, it was great to talk to the
students about a profession I am passionate about. I do hope the advice we gave
will help the students with the decision making they will face in the years to
come.
This was a great opportunity for the students to get a real
understanding of the breath of career opportunities available and excellent to
see the enthusiasm they had for progressing in their chosen professions. I wish
them all the best of luck and success for the future.
The event was a great success, both the staff at Plumstead
Manor and the students have spoken very positively of the day – many thanks to
Laura, Jane and Rachel for their time and for sharing their experiences with
the students!
See below for feedback from some of the students who
attended.
‘Yesterday was a great
day. All these inspirational women came and told us about their jobs and their
early career life. I was very inspired and found that their words actually
helped me a lot. The women’s advice was very helpful making me think about my
future a great deal. They told us about their work experiences and all their
regrets. We asked a lot of questions receiving brilliant answers in return.
They recommended to be confident in whatever we do and never stop asking
questions.’
'The best part of the
day was when the people came in to talk to us about their careers - this
inspired me very much. We were in such an exhilarating environment which I hope
invited, welcomed and comforted our guests who gave up their free time to come
and talk to us. I found out lots of different things about a variety of
careers, and I look forward to it again next year'.
'I found that the
inspirational women’s event as part of our careers day was very enjoyable. By
the end of it I felt very inspired and it helped me a lot. The advice that all
the women gave was very helpful and has made me think about my future a whole
lot more. They told us about what they regret not doing in the past and I plan
to do everything they recommended us to do such as get as much work experience
as possible, ask a lot of questions and get yourself out of your comfort zone.
Overall all of the women have made me think about my future and I am excited to
see what the outcome will be!’