07 Apr Digital Office Group welcome Island Project students for work experience
Digital Office Group recently welcomed three, 18 year old Island Project students for work experience throughout March. The initiative was aimed to bridge the gap between education and employment for students, equipping them with practical skills and exposure to real-world work environments.
The Island Project is an organisation dedicated to supporting young people with Autism and learning difficulties. This partnership aims to give students valuable insight into a professional working environment and the day-to-day operations across different areas of business, helping to ease their transition into adulthood.
The Island Project leadership team shared that all of the students involved in the three-week scheme, returned back to school full of enthusiasm after the experience. This marked a significant milestone for the organisation, which has previously faced difficulties in finding meaningful work experience opportunities for its learners.
Digital Office Group expressed their delight at the collaboration and reaffirmed their commitment to offering students a well-rounded introduction to the workplace. They also look forward to sharing further updates as more students take part in the scheme.
This partnership highlighted the importance of inclusive work experience opportunities and the powerful, confidence-boosting impact they can have on students’ personal and professional development.
The Island Project School expressed their gratitude for providing such meaningful opportunities, which have historically been challenging for the school to secure.
Sarah Gallagher, the school’s Principal, highlighted the positive feedback from the initial placement and acknowledged the support from Digital Office Group’s team, including Jack McPhillips, John McPhillips and Amy Chiavetta.
“Our first student went to Digital Office Group today for work experience. Staff returned absolutely buzzing about what an amazing day A had. He had made drinks for all the staff in the office, carried out some office duties and designed some artwork. He is looking forward to returning tomorrow.
As a School, we are so proud of A for the way he has worked today - overcoming his anxieties and engaging with new people. We are also blown away by the opportunity that Amy, Jack and John at Digital Office Group have extended to our students.
Opportunities for our pupils are so difficult to find and to allow them to engage in some meaningful experience of the world of work is transformative.
Thank you”
Sarah Gallagher - The Island Project School Principal
Mel Collett, is the Education Director at The Island Project. With a deep commitment to transforming educational experiences, she has expertise in creating engaging and impactful learning initiatives plays a crucial role in shaping the future of education at The Island Project.
“Work experience offers our young people the opportunity to develop their social skills and work with new, unfamiliar professionals.
This opportunity has given our pupils the chance to build their self esteem and recognise that they have skills and knowledge that they can contribute into the work force, giving them motivation to pursue job opportunities”
Mel Collett - Education Director, The Island Project
From the moment students from The Island Project stepped into our office, they were met with a variety of engaging and hands-on tasks. Our aim was to give them an authentic glimpse into a typical day at Digital Office. Each week began with a welcome presentation to introduce the student to our company and team.
Throughout the week, the student took on a range of office-based tasks, including shredding, making drinks, and creating marketing materials – often a key focus of the day. Later in the week, we transitioned into the warehouse to showcase the other side of our operations. This provided a more practical and hands on experience, with tasks such as replacing toners, prepping machines and unpacking deliveries.
Every student brought something different to the table. By identifying the tasks they enjoyed and excelled at, we were able to tailor the experience and build on their strengths each day.
Key tasks and projects:
From the moment students from The Island Project stepped into our office, they were met with a variety of engaging and hands-on tasks. Our aim was to give them an authentic glimpse into a typical day at Digital Office. Each week began with a welcome presentation to introduce the student to our company and team.
Throughout the week, the student took on a range of office-based tasks, including shredding, making drinks, and creating marketing materials – often a key focus of the day. Later in the week, we transitioned into the warehouse to showcase the other side of our operations. This provided a more practical and hands on experience, with tasks such as replacing toners, prepping machines and unpacking deliveries.
Every student brought something different to the table. By identifying the tasks they enjoyed and excelled at, we were able to tailor the experience and build on their strengths each day.
The Digital Office Group Run Club – ‘Desk Dash’
Our main marketing task was to design and advertise our Run Club. Every Friday, some of us step away from our desks during lunch, lace up our trainers, and head out for a short run around Ashby. It’s something we all look forward to – great for fitness, a refreshing break from work, and a brilliant way to boost team morale.
Recently, we’ve discussed opening the group up to the wider business park, so we asked the Island Project students to help us bring this idea to life. We kept the process as professional and close to our usual marketing workflow as possible. This included starting with a brief and holding a meeting to discuss the objective. The students then independently created multiple designs and presented them back to us, learning how to take on feedback and explain their creative decisions – something they improved on significantly over the week.
The final designs were fantastic. All three students worked within our company guidelines, using the correct colours, fonts, and branding style, while still producing unique and creative outcomes. Moving forward, we plan to combine their work and use it to promote our Run Club to businesses around the estate, all thanks to the brilliant efforts of the students.
Student’s Work
Student A
Student B
Student C
