The Shell Technology Enterprise Programme (STEP) places 2nd and penultimate year undergraduates within small to medium sized to undertake projects that require their skills. The placements last for 8-12 weeks during the summer vacation period and can be with businesses from any area of the business world.
As part of the programme, the students also take part in the Shell STEP awards. This requires the participants to prepare presentations and reports about their projects. This year, both Adam and Louise were successful at the local semi-finals at so went on to the County Finals held in Lincoln. Louise came second in this round and so went through to the Regional Finals held in Birmingham on Thursday 14th September 2006. All at Welland Enterprise Agency wishes Louise all the best!
Louise's Projects
Welland Enterprise recently relocated to a new office suite in Stoke Rochford. Directly adjoining the new premises is a vacant building which Welland Enterprise is very keen to obtain the lease for. The plan is to turn the unit into a Managed Workspace centre. This has formed the basis of Louise’s project. She has been responsible for planning the project. This has involved drawing up detailed floor plans, investigating how services can best be delivered to tenants, compiling capital expenditure and revenue forecasts and applying for project funding.
Louise said, “Participating in STEP has been a really valuable experience for me and the project with Welland Enterprise has been really interesting. |
It’s been great to work as part of the team here, I’ve had loads of new experiences and learned a great deal about the workings of small businesses. My project has been hard work at times but it’s also been really rewarding to see all the plans start to come together. I’m sure that the skills I’ve leant whilst working here will be extremely useful in my future career.”
On Thursday 14th September at the County Final, Louise had a stand that contained plenty of information on it and then had to do a presentation on the information. The whole event lasted from 2-7pm, and it was the combined East and West Midlands regional finals.
Louise said on Friday 15th September, "I didn’t get through to the nationals but did have a great day making contacts and promoting the development and the business."
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Adam's Projects
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Over the past eight weeks, my main job has been to organise and oversee the move of office from Grantham to Stoke Rochford. This has involved liaising closely with everyone at Welland as well as the Stoke Rochford estate office and various suppliers and contractors. Other duties have included developing the company’s health and safety policy, obtaining quotes for alarms, fire equipment etc and general help at the new premises.
Adam says, “I have really enjoyed my time with Welland Enterprise, they have been very welcoming and the experience working here will be invaluable when I am applying for jobs after graduation. The STEP programme is a very useful way for undergraduates to get good professional experience with SME’s such as Welland Enterprise. It has enabled me to gain the experience I need without having to take a year out of my studies.” |
