The benefits of work experience - a student's perspective

As part of our partnership with the University of Derby, we are committed to providing opportunities within the Community Chesterfield project for local students to upskill themselves, whilst contributing to our work in strengthening of the voluntary and community sector here in Chesterfield and the impact this has.

We have spent the last two and a half years creating opportunities for collaboration and cross sector working across Chesterfield and the results have included training sessions, events, student placements, internships, volunteering and research papers to name just a few!

The next phase of the Community Chesterfield project will see us capture this evidence and understand the impact we have had on our local community groups in Chesterfield, as well as on students and staff at the University of Derby.

To help us get this next phase underway, we were recently lucky enough to have Forensic Psychology student, Jade Beckett, join us from the University of Derby for a short work experience placement as a Participant Administrator.

Jade worked closely with members of the Community Chesterfield team to help us streamline some of our contact database and transfer it over to our new database system, Lamplight. In addition to this, Jade also began to contact our community groups to arrange evaluation chats with them.

Jade said of her time at Community Chesterfield:

“During my work placement I inputted all the Community Chesterfield contacts and organisations into a CRM system. This allowed all the data to be in one place and make it easier to contact individuals regarding feedback into the project.”

“The team at Community Chesterfield were so lovely and friendly and made me feel very welcome, they were always on hand if I needed any support. ”

“I have gained a lot of transferrable skills from the role which I will be able to apply throughout the rest of my undergrad and then into my chosen career. From phone calls I have had with organisations and individuals, they really appreciate what Community Chesterfield and DVA are doing to help the voluntary and community sectors within Chesterfield.”

It was so great to work with Jade and see her use the skills she already possesses, whilst also gaining new skills which she can use going both at university and going forward in her career. Thank you for all your help, Jade – we wish you the best of luck for the future!

We are also currently recruiting for an Impact Measuring and Evaluation Intern to join our lovely team! The successful candidate will undertake a full evaluation of our project, looking at the impacts we have had on all our participants over the last two and a half years.

Take a look here at the full job specification and information on how to apply!