The Importance of Transition Year Work Experience

The Transition Year (TY) Programme is a unique one-year programme that promotes the personal, social, vocational and educational development of students and prepares them for their role as autonomous, participative and responsible members of society. 

Importantly, TY provides a bridge to enable students to make the transition from the more dependent type of learning associated with Junior Cycle to the more independent learning environment associated with Senior Cycle. It encourages the development of a wide range of transferable critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills. The latest statistics for TY students participating in Transition Year are 40,451 in 664 schools.

Fastnet – The Talent Group® runs several work-experience weeks for transition year students each year, with students being selected from schools throughout Cork.  The students spend most of their week in the Marketing department, where they learn about recruitment campaigns, engage in research, participate in photo shoots, update the comprehensive content schedule, and support the Fastnet Rewards programme.  The rest of the week involves CV preparation and practice interviews with our Talent Consultants and supporting our Contract Solutions team.

We recently caught up with Aoife Walsh, TY student in St. Angela’s School, Cork who spent two weeks working with our team.  Aoife gave us a great insight into why she participated in the TY Work Experience programme and what she learnt.

Aoife, why did you decide to participate in the TY Work Experience programme?

Being 16 and having just finished transition year in St Angela’s School, I was looking to keep busy during the summer and learn new skills.  I decided to participate in the work experience programme with Fastnet – The Talent Group® as I wanted to gain experience in working in a workplace and contributing to a team.

I also wanted to develop my own personal skills such as communications, reliability and self-confidence. As well as this I wanted to learn new things to help me with the scary career decisions in the future. What I do know is that I really like art and design as I have always been creative and artistic from a young age.  I thought working in the Marketing department would give me a good starting point.

What did you learn during your work experience placement?

I spent most of the two weeks working with Fastnet’s Marketing Manager Laura Curtin.   Laura was amazing as she gave me a great insight into what is involved in her role in the company and what Marketing has to offer. Within these two weeks I accomplished so much.

I learnt how to use helpful marketing websites and tools such as ‘Canva’ and ‘Biteable’ to create vivid ads and videos to catch peoples’ attention on social media.  In addition, I supported Laura with filming the Talent Consultants, using the ImageConsole platform, to promote their job vacancies.  I participated in photo shoots promoting the Fastnet Rewards programme and met with some great programme partners.  I also did market research for the team and helped design templates and presentations.

The Talent Consultants were very supportive in helping me with my CV and preparing me for interviews.  It was great to learn what employers look for when they look at CVs.

What did you enjoy most about your work placement?

I really liked the creativity involved with Marketing and how wide ranged and limitless it can be. I also enjoyed working with the Fastnet team who were so friendly and supportive through-out my time there. I now have a good understanding of marketing and experience in a working environment. Overall this was a really valuable experience, and although I still don’t know exactly what I want to do, I know now I am interested in Marketing.

Would you recommend others to participate in the TY Work Experience programme?

I would definitely recommend others to do TY work experience as it helps you decide what interests you or at least helps you narrow down what you like and dislike, giving you an idea of what you want to do. It is a beneficial learning experience which will have nothing but a positive impact on choosing a career in the future so, go for it!

Speaking on Aoife’s contribution to Fastnet’s Marketing department Laura Curtin, Marketing Manager, commented “Aoife proved to be a great asset to the team.  She was extremely professional and mature in her outlook.  She undertook every task with enthusiasm and interest. She displayed great creativity and flair for the marketing campaigns and wanted to learn.  There is no doubt that the Transition Year Work Experience programme adds great value to these students’ lives”.

If you would like to learn more about #LifeAtFastnet, click here or contact Jennifer O’Brien at jennifer@fastnettalent.com / +353 21 4509200.

What did you learn during your work expierence placement?