Careers College at Harrow College have one core objective – a career focus which brings students closer to employers. With that in mind, IT Career College students were treated to a rare opportunity by visiting one of Amazon’s newest London locations. The visit gave students an insight into daily life behind the doors of one of the words largest e-commerce businesses.
With operations in 138 locations across 32 countries worldwide, Amazon have revolutionized e-shopping. In 2015, Amazon opened another base in London with a 46,000 sq ft fashion photography studio – said to be one of the largest of its kind in Europe, providing images for its fashion business across the continent. More than 1m fashion items were sold in a week on Amazon.co.uk in the run up to Christmas last year.
Upon arrival, a team from Amazon met the excited group who were shown a presentation introducing them to life at the Amazon fashion Studios. This was followed by a guided tour, where the group were shown how clothes arrive, how they are prepared and then how they move around the studio – all in a 3 day turn around. The students met staff along the way who provided an insight into what they do in their day to day jobs.
Following a lunch break, the students got in on the action with the Amazon creative team. With a focus on photography and digital technology, staff from Amazon showed students how to shoot photos as well as star in them as fashion models. Creative staff edited photos and showed how final photos are selected.
For the students, the day was thoroughly enjoyable but also very insightful. They learnt what it is like to work in a large organisation (and sub sections of a large organisation). They saw first-hand how important team work is to running a successful business. They also met a number of employees and learnt about being in full time work, what skills are used and what core competencies are required on a daily basis.
Sultan Soukani, Senior Curriculum Manager for ICT and Business at Harrow College accompanied the students. He commented “Taking students on visits to companies is great because they get to see “real life”. They get the chance to meet lots of different people and experience their working environment. It widens their horizons and helps to give them a focus for the future. We intend to take students on more visits just like this to other companies who we have strong connections with”.
Harrow College offer Career Colleges in IT and Business related subjects. These courses have carefully designed programmes, which incorporate core academic elements with highly practical vocational and technical education. In short, the curriculum of each Career College is designed by employers, for employment. Students get involved in industry projects and develop enterprise and communication skills, to prepare them for work and life.
Ruth Gilbert, Chief Executive of the Career Colleges Trust, recently commented on the importance of Careers College – “We must actively provide young people with exposure to the workplace, project-based learning, and indeed employers - opening up career choices and preparing the next generation for employment”.
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