Finally got round to blogging this…
Back in November I had to apply for my work experience placements. The school use the local business partnership group, I applied for 4 of their placements all of which were unsuccessful. I was moaning about this on twitter when one of my twitter friends offered me the chance for work experience with them. I thought nothing of it at first as it’d be in London and I didn’t think my Mum would let me work in London for a week. However, then @pennynash said her sister may let me stay with her and eventually hat was confirmed and somehow, I still don’t quite know how, I persuaded my Mum. It was all sorted out with school and everyone and then in May, off I went.
I trotted into work after a very fun commute with traffic jams, train rides and a stroll through central London. It was a lovely big building, I’d been to visit before, back in February. But I’d never been inside. This was the point at which I was most nervous! I was escorted up to the correct floor where a white wall met me, a plain wall with nothing but a “UK Border Agency” sign on it. In I went.
I was given a tour and introduced to members of the team, they were all very lovely. I’m not going to go into too much detail about the days’ activities. They mainly consisted of sitting in on meeting, helping with some tasks and shadowing and finding out about the programme. I found out that the world is full of Acronyms!
The only day with a huge bit of variation was the Wednesday. I got the opportunity to visit the main Home Office headquarters. This was just for me to have a look around the brilliant building, but as the day went on. Things began to unravel politically. It was the day when the new government’s cabinet was being announced and a new Home Secretary became more and more likely as the day went on. Then at lunchtime, she was announced. Theresa May. As is customary in the Home Office, new secretaries give an opening speech in the atrium of the building, which is surrounded by balconies. The Civil Servants all watch. It must be a very daunting experience. As the afternoon went on it began to look as though Theresa’s opening speech was going to be very late, but then the announcement came.
We all flocked out onto the balconies to see as she spoke about what the government and herself aimed to do. I felt very privileged to have been there to see it. The highlight of my week! It was a fantastic week and I’d love to go back again. My colleagues were lovely and really welcoming, I learnt an awful lot and I think my confidence has improved!
