Graduate Spotlight: Nilam

Last summer, 27 of our incredible Envision Graduates were warmly welcomed by our fantastic corporate partners for a truly unique work experience opportunity. These opportunities were carefully tailored with partners to meet the needs of our young people, offering them an ideal first step into the world of work and the chance to put their Essential Skills into practice.

We’ve gathered feedback from our young people and it’s safe to say that every young person this year has had a fantastic time on work experience and will be heading back to school with even more confidence in their abilities and their next steps after school. Of the 17 young people who shared feedback, 94% strongly agreed that the Essential Skills they learned through Envision prepared them for the opportunity, 100% felt comfortable in the workplace they joined and 94% rated their experience as 5 stars.

A massive thank you to Kennedys, NFP, HS2, Federated Hermes, Alliance Bernstein and Baily Garner for creating such meaningful opportunities for our young people and giving them the chance to be heard within your organisations. We can’t wait to provide even more work experience opportunities for our young people next summer!

Nilam graduated from the Envision Programme in 2024, and is entering into his final year of school with the ambition to explore degrees and apprenticeships in the construction industry. This summer, he joined Baily Garner as a Project Management Intern.

How did Envision prepare you for work experience?

It gave me the confidence to meet new people and ask questions to learn more about what I want in the future. At Baily Garner I had to deliver a presentation so the programme really prepared me to present. I had found presenting in the Envision final fun and not scary so I knew I could do it!

What was your favourite part of the week and why?

The site visit! Going to see the buildings Baily Garner are working on and meeting the team behind them was so fun. We were given the safety kit for the visit and it really felt like we were getting to experience something that wasn’t available to everyone. The buildings are very impressive and it was good to see the amount of work that goes into creating a space like that.

I also really enjoyed some of the competitions Baily Garner ran to get us ready for the day! For example, working as a team to build the best Lego house and the Linked In post-competition.

Which of the Essential Skills did you use most during work experience?

Teamwork and communication were essential. Throughout the week we worked as a team to complete our project and fast-paced competitions meant we had to communicate clearly.

Can you think of one activity that improved your confidence?

The day before our final presentation, we were given three minutes to think of our favourite person and then had to present to the group about why we had chosen them. This got us used to talking and being confident in front of our audience – I was asked a question I didn’t know the answer to, but I confidently answered them and didn’t feel worried about it.

What would you say to another young person considering whether they want to take part in work experience?

I would tell them to do it! If they want to have a week to see what a workplace is really like or they want to learn about a new area of work it’s great. I didn’t know Baily Garner before and now the experience has given me a direction for after school. Even if you don’t want to work in a particular sector, taking part in work experience will still help you develop the skills you need for life, and having experience on your CV helps you stand out if you want to go for jobs or University.

Do you have any final comments?

I wanted to say a massive thank you to Baily Garner for this opportunity, I would love to work with them in the future. The team were really welcoming and we were given the chance to ask any question we had!