Since completing College and joining the PLP Fire team full time, Morgan and Michael are regularly encouraged to expand their knowledge and practical skills, having both recently completed courses in fire alarms. We cannot thank the team at PLP Fire enough, for choosing to work with NKC and continuing to offer our students such fantastic opportunities. We look forward to start recruiting for a third industry placement student to join your excellent team.

Classic Accounting Services Ltd & Industry Placements

Classic Accountancy Services (UK) Limited, provide accounting and advisory services centred around people and their business dealings. Azariah Quansah, Accounts Manager and business owner of Classic Accountancy Services Limited has been working with the College since 2019 providing industry placements for our accountancy students. Since 2019, Azariah and his team have supported 4 students, 2 students each academic year. This year Azariah has seen great potential in one of our level 3 AAT students and has offered her to work on a part time basis.

Through hardships during the pandemic, Azariah has continued to support our students with their industry placements. We have continuously built upon our partnerships, building a future for our accountancy students. Building a strong partnership with between North Kent College and Classic Accountancy has meant that Azariah and his team are able to trust our support and students each year.

Azariah Quansah, Account Manager said,

It has been great working with North Kent College via Ramneek Hundal, Employer relationship officer, right from the supply of students for the industry placement, tailored training manual and through to completion of paperwork. The company has been exposed well within the community, and business circles. The scheme has been coordinated nicely because there has been free flow of information between Classic Accountancy, and Ramneek. Students have been readily available for the apprenticeship. Overall, it has been a good job done. By having the students in on a part time basis it has increased the speed of the firm with meeting their deadlines as it means that more jobs are able to be completed within a short period of time, at a high quality. By having the students in the office, it has meant that the firm has been able to take on additional clients.

Through hardships during the pandemic, Azariah has continued to support our students with their industry placements. We have continuously built upon our partnerships, building a future for our accountancy students. Building a strong partnership with between North Kent College and Classic Accountancy has meant that Azariah and his team are able to trust our support and students each year. Educating employers on the placement scheme is our goal, allowing them to see the potential that our students have. It has been great to see so many employers willing to upskill the local students and seeing the positives in taking on a student. Not only can a student bring fresh, up to date skills to the business, they are able to support you with your business needs and expand and expose you more within the community.

Local Entrepreneur on working with North Kent College

Lewis first began to work with the College when offering an apprenticeship opportunity to a local young person Maisie at one of his businesses The Body Kitchen. After a successful recruitment and enrolment of Maisie, Lewis and his business partner Vijay continued to work with the college when they offered North Kent College computing and creative media students industry placements at their newly launched company, We Manage Business. We Manage Business works with businesses to provide consultancy services regarding branding and design, website design and management, social media, virtual PA and much more. Throughout they supported the industry placement process, providing the successful placement candidates with support and mentoring. The placements continued with slight interruptions from Covid 19 with some work being completed remotely developing the students experience and understanding of the industry.

Lewis Deakin, Business owner said,

We wanted to support new emerging talent when we began the new business and felt that industry placements offered that opportunity. We have really enjoyed working with the students and it has been great to see the work they can produce. The students and the business are fully supported by the college which makes the process smooth and easy to do. When we can we are looking to invite more North Kent College students to gain experience with us.

Julia Edwards, NKC Employer Engagement Team Leader said, “When the team are able to work with employers such as Lewis we are so pleased. He understands the need to develop the next generation of employees and the importance of opening the doors to young people fresh from College. We are so grateful to Lewis and his team for the positive experiences they have provided and look forward to continuing working with them in the future.”

Engineering placement develops Leo’s skills and confidence

Level 3 year 1 engineering student Leo successfully applied for a placement with Evans Turner during 2018/19, completing 45 days by the spring term. Here’s what he had to say about his experience:

Whilst studying Level 3 Engineering I completed an Industry Placement at Evans Turner in Crayford as a Trainee Engineer. I started working 2 days per week, which I was then able to increase to 3 days per week once I had settled in and Evans Turner could see my skills. The 3 days still fitted around my college course at Gravesend campus. I learnt skills involving sheet metal work, such as using the guillotine and using hand tools. I also developed my confidence in working in an adult environment and my communication skills. At the end of my placement I was thrilled that Evans Turner asked me to stay on to do paid work with the company, which I am now doing until the end of my qualification. I would recommend doing an Industry Placement to all students, especially those who would like to build their skills and experience.

Placement with marketing, communications and brand experts

We recently had the opportunity to interview one of our Level 3 Computing students who is currently on an industry placement with Delego, a support solutions company with bases in both London and Gravesend.

Heather Syers, Director of Delego said

Marco has consistently shown a highly professional attitude to his role and the standard of his work has steadily improved week by week. Marco always arrives early for work, is always very respectful and is generally just a pleasant addition to the team. He takes instructions well and can be trusted to deliver tasks independently with very little assistance needed. Marco has designed marketing materials for Delego contracts which have been highly praised by the respective clients, he has attended client’s offices outside of the Delego office to complete work for them in-house and he has also worked on tasks that have greatly improved the efficiency of the administrative processes within the business. We have been thrilled with the work that Marco has produced and to have been part of his continued professional improvement.

Media & TV student brings charity’s importance to life

North Kent College began working with Greenwich and Bexley Community hospice through Mark Rowland the manager. They had attended our jobs fairs a few years in a row and placements seemed a natural progression point. Conventionally, we would work with them for health and social care placements but for this placement they needed help in their marketing team.

My name is Joe Storrie. I am a Media TV & Film student at North Kent College. I heard about student Industry Placements and was interested so I decide to ask and find out more about them. After reviewing several different placements, I was intrigued by an opening for a volunteer videographer at Greenwich and Bexley Community Hospice, Abbey Wood. I didn’t know much about hospices and expected it to be similar to an old people’s home to be honest, but I was very wrong. The hospice is a great place and gives brilliant care to people at the end of life. So many things go on here which I was unaware of, such as parties, singers, magicians, painting, exercises, games, and so much more. I was able to film this great stuff to gain experience in film making whilst also building awareness of the hospice and all the great things that go on here. As well as benefiting my knowledge of tv and film, I have also made great connections and have gained confidence and even improved my conversational skills. If you are interested in getting involved in some sort of industry or trade, you should definitely consider a placement as it will definitely benefit you in the long run.

Accountancy company finds new recruit through industry placement scheme

When the Business Development team at NKC approached Dartford based Accountancy firm Blue Rocket Accounting, to see if they would take a student on an industry placement, not only did they say yes, but they were actually looking for a new recruit and have employed student Jordan Parkinson. Jordan completed his Level 3 AAT Accountancy course in summer 2019, which included a paid 2 days per week placement with Blue Rocket Accountancy. They were so impressed that they have since taken him on in a full-time position – a great outcome for both the student and company.

Jordan is delighted to have secured his first career job through his industry placement. Jordan commented,

“Blue Rocket Accounting has helped me grow not only in the accounting profession, but also as a person. I am very glad I took part in the work placement scheme and without the college team pushing me to put my name forward, I don't think I would be in fulltime employment at Blue Rocket Like I am now. Anyone looking for a career in accountancy should really give this a go as it not only gives you experience; it also opens up doorways into future employment.”

Student lands perfect summer placement with BDP international

AAT Accountancy student Jamie Spencer landed the perfect Summer placement at BDP International Ltd, an international logistics company based at Crossways, Dartford, in their Finance Department. BDP International had an AAT Accountancy Apprentice being trained at North Kent College and Jamie covered his role, while the apprentice was away over the Summer.

Jonathan Adcock UK & Ireland Financial Controller said,

We saw this as being a win-win situation, allowing us to cover a role and giving Jamie valuable experience at the same time.

Industry Placement leads to a permanent position

Nathan, one of our Motor Vehicle students, was lucky enough to land himself a permanent position within JB Smart after completing his Industry Placement. This goes to show that industry placements do work and they are a great “foot in the door” and could lead to permanent employment within the industry relevant to your studies

Nathan, Level 3 Motor Vehicle Student,

I have been studying level 1 and 2 motor vehicle maintenance at NKC Gravesend. I applied for my industry placement after attending the work placement evening with my parents. During the evening I picked up a leaflet for JB Smart in Welling, which I was lucky enough to get. I have been with JB Smart since April doing my work placement. I am really enjoying the work and learning so much from Jason. Since finishing my level 2 in June, I have been working full time and have been lucky enough to be offered a permanent position as a body shop assistant. Since working with Jason at JB Smart, I have gained experience in wheel refurbishing, all types of body work using specialised tools to help complete the job. I have also started to learn how to use different techniques when respraying body panels and wheels. I would like to thank NKC and Jason and Kerry at JB Smart for giving me this opportunity

Jason Ball, Director of JB Smart added,

We are a new company set within the heart of Welling and have worked hard over the past year to build our business into what it is today. We came to the point within the business where we could give the opportunity to a young person to join our team to gain experience within the workplace and maybe in time an employed position within the company. Just at that time we were contacted by North Kent College, who explained the Industry Placement scheme to us, and she helped by finding us a suitable candidate. From the start Nathan has shown great potential and he has fitted in so well within the company. He is eager to learn and will always ask for help or advice on the task he has been given and always completes them to a high standard. With every job that comes into the body shop there is always something new for Nathan to learn giving him a wide range of new skills that he may not have been able to learn at college. We are also pleased to announce that we have now officially welcomed Nathan as our first employee of JB Smart and look forward to working with North Kent College to take on more Industry placements in the future as the company grows.

Experience in a legal office leads to a permanent position in the City

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) interviewed a class of Legal Secretarial students at the start of the academic year and selected Megan. She completed 1 day per week from October until the end of her course at which point she was successful in gaining a permanent role with Linklaters. She stood out from the other applicants due to the experience she’d gained over the year with BCLP. BCLP have subsequently offered more placement opportunities for other students.

Sophia Joseph, Legal PA Manger BCLP commented,

It was an absolute pleasure welcoming Megan for an industry placement in October 2018. The placement proved to be very successful for the team with Megan undertaking crucial and detailed tasks which made a significant difference. At the same time, Megan gained valuable skills learning from other PAs which will put her in good stead for her future career aspirations. Megan proved to be professional and dedicated at all times and became a well-liked and valued member of the team. This was also a great opportunity to continue working with the College who were fantastic as always. As a result of Megan’s placement, we are looking forward to welcoming more students in the future!

On 3rd July 2019, Megan received the Industry Placement student of the year award at NKC’s annual FE Awards.

Contact Us

If you are interested in working with the college please get in contact. We can assist with any enquiry from commercial courses, apprenticeships, placements and much more.

Email: Business@northkent.ac.uk or call: 01322 629758