Working with Schools and Colleges

For many years Jarrolds has worked with schools and colleges to provide work experience and assist with career planning and employability programmes. Some of the major areas in which this support has been given are outlined below.

• WorkWise is a programme designed to help young people become more employable and successful in their working lives. Students (15 – 16 year olds) from local schools attend WorkWise workshops presented by facilitators from local businesses. For some students it has been life changing. WorkWise also helps to support and underpin parts of the National Curriculum in such area as careers, citizenship, work experience and enterprise education. Jarrold retail has provided facilitators for the past 6-8 years.

• Work Placements for Year 10 Students Each year one – two week work placements are provided for students from local schools aged 14 – 15 years of age. This gives the students a taste of what it is like to work in a real environment in retail, serving customers, working within a team, handling money, and dealing with stock. These placements take place from early February through to November with most years achieving a total of 50 students.

• Work Placements from overseas Each year Jarrold retail provides work experience for students from colleges in France, Germany and Austria. These students are aged from 18 years of age upwards. The majority of these placements are over a four week period, giving the student a good insight into the culture of both living and working in a foreign country where they must communicate in English.

The company is regularly approached by local schools for support for teachers mentoring B Tec Business Groups. Requests are often received for information on recruitment and selection, buying, stock control and many request visits to the store. Where possible this support is provided but it has to be balanced this with the business needs as this can become quite time consuming.

For further information on the above programmes please contact:

Mrs Susan McAvoy

Jarrold Department Store

5 London Street
Norwich
Norfolk
NR2 1JF

tel: 01603 660661