BLOG: Work Experience – Why OxLEP?

As a student in my first year of GCSEs I have recently been faced with some (admittedly quite minor) decisions to make about what I want to do once I leave school.

Of course I have been thinking about my future career ever since I was very young. When I was little my dream job would fluctuate wildly varying from pop-star to marine biologist and every career between. However it was not until I was deciding which subjects to take for my GCSEs that I began realistically considering the careers that I would enter into.

Like many people my age my interests change wildly from week to week but I have always had a passion for politics and a thirst for any knowledge about the inner workings of the world I live in especially to do with hard-to-grasp subjects like the economy. This is partly what drew me to doing a work experience placement at OxLEP. The deep involvement of OxLEP with a variety of different businesses gives me an opportunity to see how economic growth is nurtured providing me with a more thorough understanding of the intricate workings of a local economy.

The diversity of businesses with which OxLEP works also provides me with an insight into a huge range of careers I could go into many of which I had never considered before (and a few that I had never even realised existed)!

Already I have been shown the diversity of the Oxford economy visiting entrepreneurs employers and educators from around the city. As well as observing the work that OxLEP does I have been able to look in on a few other businesses; this has provided me with a more inclusive picture of the careers available in Oxfordshire.

In just my first day-and-a-bit of work experience I have learned a lot. With over three days leftI am excited to see what else work experience at OxLEP will teach me.

Rose Poyser – Work Experience student