Nirav at top law firm!
As part of my AFK’s Life & Work training curriculum, trainees are matched with employers for work placements.
Nirav, 22, joined the Life & Work programme in 2015 and became part of the elected Youth Council in 2016. He developed an interest in working in an office so our job coach, Elaine, organised for an interview at one of our employer partners – a leading legal firm – and Nirav then started a four week work placement.
Nirav: “I travel to work by train and I feel good when I arrive at work in my suit – people say I look good. The environment is nice; I like computers and I like my colleagues, especially Mike and Brian.
“This is my first work placement and I’ve been working in the IT department. I test software to make sure systems are working properly, make phone calls, talk to colleagues, use spreadsheets, Word, Outlook, Java and PowerPoint and send emails internally and externally.
“We do a lot of work and then we have a bit fun, which is a good balance. I have my lunch in the canteen with Mike and we talk about work and football – I support Manchester United and Mike supports Chelsea but we still get on and have football banter.”
“Boom, I’ve done it!”
“There are lots of different tests on the server so that was harder to learn but the most important thing was to try and get it done. That’s what I enjoy the most – completing work. I’m proud of how much I have learned, I smashed it at sending emails and I’ve learned to be more patient and not click too quickly on computers. I find talking to lots of people much easier compared to when I first started and was nervous because I did not know anyone.”
“In the future when I get paid work, I might spend my money on a holiday or football tickets.”
Mike, Test Analyst and team buddy: “Nirav has done really well since he started, sometimes he isn’t very sure about things to start but now he is a lot more confident and chatty. To see Nirav progress from following me and being shy, to showing me the way, achieving and happily ticking off completed tasks is great.
“Now Nirav whizzes off to the test labs, talks to colleagues and asks questions about what everything means. The work we do is very important but the good thing about IT testing is you can’t go wrong. Nirav is now much faster on the computers, remembers everything we’ve done before and goes ahead zooming around the computer.”
Employment placements are an important part of our training curriculum and give trainees a real taste of working in a variety professional environments.
To find out more about joining our Life & Work programme or becoming an employer partner please contact Harriet Fisher on [email protected] or Elaine Harman on [email protected]