Mentoring and a paid internship with Zest gave student Grace, from Ingleby Barwick, insight to a growing industry – and mentor Anthony the chance to give back.
“Before the Career Ready programme, I was unsure of my future options and felt that I lacked the skills and experience that employers look for,” says student Grace, a student at Bede Sixth Form College.
She was paired with mentor Anthony Dodd, Social Value Manager at Zest, who fund and operate EV charging solutions for local authorities, brands and destinations to develop the UK’s vehicle charge point infrastructure to make the transition to an electric vehicle accessible for all.
“The structure that Career Ready provides was really helpful.” Anthony says. “The combination of mentoring and internship worked well, because by the time Grace started her internship, I had gotten to know her and I knew how Zest could best support her during her placement.”
Transferable skills for the future
Grace joined the team at Zest for a four-week paid internship over summer 2024 – first meeting the team at the office in Leeds, then working remotely.
“I attended meetings on Teams with people in different roles in the company,” says Grace. “I completed different tasks –creating social media posts, case studies and educational resources, and stakeholder mapping exercises.
“Presenting my research helped improve my public speaking skills and gave me new confidence.”
Grace wants to be a sports journalist, so Anthony was keen to show the skills and knowledge she developed would be transferable.
“I wanted to make sure that Grace had opportunities to learn about, and work across, lots of different teams to give her an understanding of the different roles available,” he says.
“I got lots of great feedback about how Grace conducted herself and the work she produced. I can see the impact it’s had on her confidence, and how it’s helped her to develop independence and other life skills – even through things like travelling to the office in Leeds by herself.”
Showcasing sustainability
“One of the things I wanted to do was show Grace some of the possibilities within this industry, which is growing and developing all the time,” says Anthony. “There will be careers here that young people have never even heard of, due to advancing technologies that haven’t even been thought of yet.”
“It’s really important to bring young people in, show them what an organisation like ours has to offer. For our side, it’s an opportunity to discover and tap into future talent.”
“My favourite part of this internship was designing a future proof EV Charging Hub and presenting my efforts back to my line manager” Grace says. “It was fun creating my own designs and interpretations.”
Next steps
Now Grace hopes to get an apprenticeship in journalism or study sport media at university.
“The support of Anthony as a mentor has been incredibly beneficial,” she reflects. “He has given me insight into different job roles and environments, which can give me ideas of what I want to do in the future.”
Anthony adds: “It’s been a great experience helping Grace develop her skills and understand what’s out there. I’d encourage anybody who can to get involved in Career Ready.”
