Business leaders put students through their paces

Over 150 Year 10 students at Pakefield High School put their interview skills to the test this week at a special careers event supported by EDF Energy.

John McNamara from the Sizewell C community relations team and Roy Cousins from the Sizewell B HR department joined other employers from the region to coach, mentor and interview the fifteen year-old students.

In a change from recent years real job descriptions were used at the event which brought a sense of realism to the interviews and gave the students an opportunity to research the companies.

The pupils were asked to pick one of the real jobs at Sizewell B, write an application form, generate a CV, and study and research EDF Energy in the East of England. Yesterday was the final element, with the actual job interview. All 20 interviewers had been briefed on the jobs, and how to interview the pupils.

Pakefield High School Headmaster, Anthony Walker, said:  “Holding mock interviews is not the norm within schools and it is an extremely valuable skill for our students to learn as they embark on their work experience journey and life after school. At Pakefield High School we have been working closely with local businesses to organise a successful mock interview day and having a range of jobs from EDF Energy Sizewell B has made the experience true to life and our students thoroughly enjoyed the event.”

Roy Cousins, Sizewell B HR Business Partner, said:  “I was impressed by the engagement and enthusiasm of the students.  I hope they enjoyed the day and the experience will be helpful with the next steps they take.”

John McNamara said:  “I was really encouraged by the time the students had spent preparing for the interviews, researching EDF Energy, Sizewell B and the Sizewell C project.  They are now more aware that all manner of skills, not just engineering and nuclear-focused, are required to make a power station work and the feedback from the school was that the pupils were energised because they were applying for real jobs.”

Pakefield High School is organising a prize-giving based on the best performers during the interviews at a later date.