Blue Rocket

Blue Rocket is an ethical media relations company based in Brighton.  It helps companies across the UK to build their media profile in the right way.  Blue Rocket also has a sister company, Green Rocket, which is dedicated to helping companies in the green sector.

Blue Rocket has 7 employees and Green Rocket has 4.

UK

Often work-experience is marred with images of tea-making and filing, but this is not the case with modern work-experience programmes.  Employers today face the challenge of implementing and maintaining a quality programme that benefits both the company and the individual.  Structured programmes can enable companies to complete projects, recruit new employees and allow the student invaluable workplace experience.

Work-experience programme

Vicky Hoad, Account Director and Kim Stoddart, Managing Director

Vicky runs the work-experience programme, whilst Kim oversees it and helps it grow.

Blue Rocket has been offering work-experience programmes for more than four years offering week long placements as well as a longer graduate programme for students still at University.

• Blue Rocket advertises the graduate work-experience programme on the local university careers centre website.
• Candidates that don't make it through to an interview are sent articles on 'what is PR' to help give them more idea of what a career in PR entails.
• Interviews for placements are less formal than an interview for a full time position would be, in order to put the student at ease.  They are conducted by students who have formerly gone through the graduate work-experience programme.
• Short-listed candidates are invited back for a half-day's work-experience where they get to meet the team and are given varying tasks that will enable them to demonstrate what they are capable of.
• Each student who is taken on to the work-experience programme is assigned a mentor and given a range of work which is designed to give them an overview of the PR industry, how it works and what a job within it entails.
• At the end of the week students are given tips on how to get into the industry.
• Blue Rocket also has at least two student employees working with the company on an ongoing part-time basis.  These students work as trainees with flexible working hours to work around their studies.  The work not only expands their skills and experience but provides them with an additional income to help fund their studies.

The benefits 

• The graduate work-experience programme provides students with the opportunity to gain valuable experience and financial support whilst studying for their degree.
• Students are given feedback on their work so that they are able to apply the skills learnt on their work-experience week and identify weaker areas that they need to work on.
• Students bring fresh and ideas to the company which enables it to maintain a culture of creativity and innovation.

Results

• Some of the students who took part in the part -time trainee programme have gone on to become full time employees at Blue Rocket, following the completion of their University course.
• Blue Rocket is a finalist in the 'Under 10 Employees' category at the 2008 NCWE Awards.

• Blue Rocket asks placement students for feedback on the completion of their work experience, so that any necessary changed can be made in order for the programme to continue to improve and grow.
• The company are always looking at new ways to help students gain the all important work experience whilst at University.

• Blue Rocket is about to start a work shadowing programme with Sussex University, where 5 students will be given the opportunity to work with the company for a day.
• The company has worked with the Prince Trust in the past and is likely to begin a work-experience programme with a sixth for college in the near future.

Key Tips

1. Ensure that the work experience programme enables students to get a good insight into what the job entails.  Rather than relying on a work shadowing approach it would be better to put together an activity plan that enables students to play an active role in different areas of the company.
2. Ask your students for feedback in order to gauge how they found the placement and if there is anything you could do differently next time.  It can also be beneficial to ask before the placement whether there is anything they would particularly like to get involved in.
3. Assign them a mentor; ideally this should be someone who has done the programme themselves in the past.