Yesterday UTC Oxfordshire was delighted to host an engaging Employability Skills Workshop for our Year 12 students, delivered in collaboration with our valued Digital Futures Programme partners.
Students demonstrated focus, curiosity and enthusiasm as they took part in a range of employer-led activities, including CV workshops, interview skills sessions and mock assessments—key experiences at this important time of year as many begin applying for jobs and work placements.
We are incredibly grateful to Sadie from Ark Data Centres, Tracy from VIRTUS Data Centres, and Candice with Jasmine from LMG (lmgiq.com) for sharing their expertise and making each session dynamic and meaningful. It was a real pleasure to witness the positive interactions between students and employers—particularly a fantastic, constructive conversation between Tracy from VIRTUS Data Centres and our Year 12 student Miracle about his potential future in cyber security.
Tracy took extra time and provided valuable insight into the range of opportunities within the field and highlighted how in-demand these roles are, particularly within large organisations such as Amazon and Google. Tracy also explained that while future opportunities may require relocation to London, she offered encouragement and reassurance, and kindly agreed to keep Miracle informed of any suitable opportunities that may arise.
During the mock assessment and interview workshop, Tracy shared a personal experience from her own career journey, explaining how she was once asked a technical question in an interview that she could not answer. Rather than guessing, she responded honestly, expressing her eagerness to learn and develop her skills within the company.
This honesty and self-awareness ultimately helped her secure the role. Tracy’s example provided a powerful message to students, reinforcing that authenticity, confidence, and a willingness to learn are far more valuable than overstating skills on a CV without the ability to demonstrate them.
A huge thank you also to our staff for supervising sessions and ensuring everything ran smoothly, as always.
The event was a real success and proved to be extremely valuable for our students as they prepare to apply for jobs and work experience opportunities this summer. It was wonderful to see their engagement, confidence, and enthusiasm throughout the sessions. We wish all of our students the very best in their future endeavours and every success in the opportunities ahead.
We look forward to continuing to work with our partner companies in the future, as their support is truly invaluable to our students and their development.
