CONEL Introduction to Early Years Education student Kai Baptiste with Diana Toader from Goldman Sachs.
Staff from global investment bank Goldman Sachs helped students gain work-ready skills by offering them advice on CV writing, job applications and interview techniques, during an employability workshop at the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (CONEL).
The event, part of the College’s programme of enrichment activities, also gave students the chance to find out about job opportunities with the financial giant, the type of people it recruits and advice on running a business.
Health and Social Care Level 2 student Fatma Bahcesular, 18, said: “I now have more knowledge about what I need to do for interviews, what to say and what not to say, what employers are looking for and how to present myself, which will be really useful in helping me to get a job.”
Zeinab Ahmed, 17, who is studying the same course, added: “I learnt a lot about leadership and how to be successful in business, and what you need to do to get a job. I don’t have a CV so I found that part really helpful.”
The event was organised by Goldman Sachs’s staff volunteer programme Community Teamworks, which encourages employees to take time off during work hours to share their ideas and expertise in the communities where they work and live.
“This year we’ve been very focused on helping young people,” said Lin Liu, a Technologist at Goldman Sachs, who headed up the volunteer group visiting the College.
“Looking into the future, we need to build a skilled and diverse workforce. Many of the young people we recruit come from university, but we want to include Further Education colleges as well.
“We were really impressed with how engaged and the level of maturity the students have shown. Some were quite shy at the beginning, but as they got more involved they shone through and really participated in the activities.”
Goldman Sachs have already run two employability workshops at CONEL this year and will have run a further seven by December.
Anthony Robinson, Quality and Learner Experience Manager, said: “Giving our students the opportunity to talk to employers such as Goldman Sachs and find out what they look for when recruiting can really help our students stand out when they start looking for work and begin their careers.”