Ayrshire College has worked with PURESpa for the last two academic years on an innovative project with beauty students. The project involves PURESpa taking on college students and giving them a long term work placement within their Silverburn Spa. Both parties have ensured an acceptable industry standard of work experience for college students.
This year’s current project involves PURESpa interviewing college students from various colleges, performing trade tests, providing real valuable life/work experiences, giving feedback on the interviews, which students may not normally receive during their college studies.
The successful students are placed one day a week in the Spa/Beauty environment. PURESpa provide a training schedule and allocate a mentor from the PURESpa team for any additional support required during the student placement. Coordination and commitment from the PURESpa team ensures that the students gain the maximum benefit they can from their placement.
This type of experience and opportunity afforded to a student is invaluable. They are inspired and come back into college enthusiastic about what they have learned and share this with their tutors and peers.
Ayrshire College has developed a Work Placement Guide for Employers used when on placement which captures the needs of a college beauty/hair student and the needs of the employers to allow for a greater overall experience for their students.
Education Scotland inspectorate voiced the need for employers to be more systemically invloved with FE colleges. This PURESpa project is about encouraging employer engagement and embracing an opportunity for an employer to be involved in developing their future employees.
It is obvious that the PURESpa team care about their employees of the future and are prepared to be creative and innovative in achieving a successful partnership between FE colleges and themselves.