Manchester youngsters can kick-start their careers with a free BT work placement

BT is on the lookout for 15 young people in Manchester who are ready to kick-start their working life with a free work placement.

The three week course, combining hands-on work experience with coaching and training, is open to anyone aged 16 to 24 not currently in education, employment or training.

The work placement offers the opportunity for people to build confidence and learn practical work skills such as CV writing and interview techniques. Attendees are given a certificate showing their attendance and achievements to demonstrate their commitment to prospective employers.

The next work placement in Manchester starts on November 30, 2017 and will be held at BT’s Dial House offices in Salford. For more details or to apply visit www.bt.com/workready.

The first week of the course is mainly office based and focuses on building and developing practical work skills such as time management, customer service and computing skills.

This is followed by a week ‘on the job’, shadowing employees and getting hands on experience of the working day. In Manchester, this will be an opportunity to work alongside engineers from Openreach, the business responsible for Britain’s largest phone and broadband network, as they build and maintain the millions of miles of fibre and copper cables that connect UK home and businesses to local telephone exchanges.

The final days of the work placement are spent doing mock interviews, creating a stand-out CV and developing an individual plan of the next steps to find employment or return to education.

Mike Blackburn, chair of BT’s regional board in the North West, said: “A BT work placement is a fully supported programme, which can inspire young people, giving them the confidence and skills they need to either start their working life or return to education.

“I would encourage any young person looking to get on a new career path to join a work placement. We regularly run courses in Manchester and throughout the North West so even if you can’t attend this particular course register your interest to make sure you don’t miss out in the future.”

BT work placements are part of the BT Work Ready programme which is a series of initiatives provided to help young people, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, gain employment skills and get them ready for work. It’s part of BT’s commitment as a founding partner in the Movement to Work coalition of employers.**

BT has been running Work Ready since 2014 and to date more than 3,500 young people from around the UK have participated in the programme.More than half have gone on to either gain employment or return to education.

Further information on BT’s Work Ready programme – www.bt.com/workready

For further information about this news release please contact the BT regional press office on 0800 085 0660. All our news releases can be read at http://www.btplc.com/News

Notes to Editors

** Movement to Work offers work placements to 16-24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training. And particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds who can struggle to identify and take advantage of employment opportunities.

www.movementtowork.com

BT is a lead company for the charity, which is a collaboration of UK employers aiming to tackle youth unemployment by providing high-quality work experience placements.