For 2018-19, Medway Council provided over 30 exclusive rewards, which included opportunities in finance, web design, legal, regeneration and culture, HR, public health, business change, youth work and communications.
The EP team recently caught-up with a handful of the reward winners and their managers to find out more!
The EP team met with Aiden Ratchford (School of European Cultures and Languages) who has been undertaking a 12-week internship in the Housing Team.
Aiden explained due to his volunteering work, where he has assisted at a food bank in Canterbury, he is passionate about the issues related to homelessness and social housing. As a result, this was the perfect internship! ‘I was thrown straight into the deep end’, he reflected, as he has been working with senior members of staff to create a 5-year Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Strategy. Beyond this, Aiden has also authored a 5,000 word report on Women’s Health Needs for Rough Sleepers, where has been tasked with data analysis and research. He has also been analysing data reflective of the Medway region and comparing this to national trends. As a result, Aiden has gained real responsibility and is able to have a significant impact on policy.
Aiden commented:
“The EP Scheme has given me the opportunity to gain a good into local government workings and to have genuine responsibilities from day one. I now have a real understanding of policy and local government.”
The EP team also caught-up with Martina Lackova (School of Engineering and Digital Arts) and her line manager Selina Bullivant, Senior Workforce Development Officer. Here, Martina has been tasked with developing webpages, which provide external businesses with access to training programmes developed by the council.
Martina applied for this reward as she wanted to enhance her digital skills and as a result, she has been assisting with the development of various webpages. Activities range from ensuring all courses were accurate across various sites, updating news stories and updating relevant links. Martina also gained the chance to apply her design skills, creating a poster for the website, in addition to creating a quote webpage. Furthermore, Martina undertook research, reviewing the offerings of alternative training providers.
Selina commented:
“Martina has been undertaking high priority jobs which we have not had the chance to undertake. She has brought with her both knowledge and experience and we are now able to build upon the work she has undertaken. She has had a huge impact.”
As a result of her work, Martina has been offered the chance to return to Medway Council as a temporary member of staff!
The EP team also learnt about the work Hazel Frost (School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Research) has been doing in Youth Services. Hazel’s internship was split into three principle sections, where she was first tasked with assisting with the organisation and delivery of the Medway Youth Awards. Here, she gained essential event planning experience, whilst undertaking various administrative responsibilities and creating a marketing booklet. Following the event, Hazel has been supporting the planning of summer activities, liaising with the public and also parents, whilst dealing with bookings and finance. Later this summer, Hazel will be assisting with the delivery of these events, gaining hands on experience of youth work.
Reflecting on the internship, staff commented:
“Hazel has had a significant impact! It’s a really busy period of the year and Hazel has brought both creativity and quality. It is not typical administrative work and Hazel has been working with a range of stakeholders within the council and the public.”
Lastly, the EP team have caught up with Tanya Sengupta (School of Psychology) who undertook a project placement within the Public Health team. Here, Tanya was tasked with working on the Stay Connected project, undertaking research focused on loneliness and social isolation in Medway. Tanya was able to undertake a range of research, conducting interviews and creating surveys, leading to the formulation of a report, which was presented to senior members of staff.
Reflecting on her experience, Tanya said:
“The placement was very interesting. I got the full workplace experience and beyond. I learnt how to refine my report writing skills, interpersonal communication and presentation skills to the expected level within the office…My skills were enhanced by the tasks set throughout the project timeframe. From conducting interviews with partner agencies to writing/ reviewing reports for providing the council with recommendations, I aimed to contribute as much as I could to the work. Personally, I gained a lot of confidence from the experience.”