Beth was launched straight into the thick of the action spending time with the Towpath Talk editor Janet Richardson and the heritage and lifestyle design team to create an article for the waterways publication. She also worked with the marketing, digital, picture desk and advertising teams. 

Classic and railways publisher Tim Hartley asked Mole to pass on his thanks to all those who welcomed Beth into their respective departments and showed her the ropes, and we also managed to catch up with Beth herself for a quick chat about her two

 Beth gives her verdict...

 “In my two weeks I got the chance to work in departments I usually wouldn’t have even considered, but found myself having a lot of fun. 

“Despite having to wake up at 5.30am to catch the bus, I can still say I would do my placement again in a heartbeat. It was such an exciting and rewarding experience – I have to thank all of the staff involved. 

“I had the opportunity to try a bit of everything the company has to offer, from heading down to Grantham Canal for an article to be published in Towpath Talk, to working with the marketing team and writing press releases; a whole new experience for a journalism student!

“I am really grateful to everyone who I got the chance to work with for their help (and patience when it came to Photoshop!); I have learned so many more things my course simply doesn’t have time to cover. I’m looking forward to showing off my newly acquired skills in my university work, so once again: thank you!”

Heidi De Wolf, chair / director at Lincolnshire charity Every-One: “This role has expanded my professional network, reconnected me to my background in health and social care and helped me apply the leadership skills and knowledge I gained over many years.”

Heidi said: “I volunteer as Non-Executive Director and Chair for a small charity called Every-One. I originally did so to help expand my network and experience beyond my internally facing full-time role at a local council at a time when my job was becoming less secure.

“The charity has gone and continues to go through continuous changes during that time, having to review, evolve & adapt. The Non-Executive Director role has allowed me to gain as well as apply my knowledge, contribute to problem solving, expand my network & influence decisions, all invaluable leadership skills.

“Every-One started life as Lincolnshire Carers & Young Carers Partnership. Given that I was a young carer for my mum who lived with chronic depression and anxiety, it was a great way to support a team of people who in turn provide support to young people with caring responsibilities. A great match makes for a really meaningful & rewarding experience.”

There are currently dozens of openings for volunteers across Lincolnshire and one of the people helping others into the roles saw his own life transformed by giving his time for free.

Jody Raggo is now an area officer with Lincolnshire Community and Voluntary Service (LCVS).

He originally joined LCVS eight years ago in a voluntary capacity. Back then his confidence was low, he felt stuck in a rut and he was struggling to motivate himself.

Jody had taken stop-gap jobs in retail and catering on leaving university with a degree in English and film studies, but wanted to shift to an administration role.

A training coach he was referred to via the Job Centre advised volunteering after Jody faced five months of unemployment, applying for roles that he didn’t get due to lack of experience.

Jody was nervous when he joined LCVS (then called South Lincolnshire CVS) as an administration volunteer in February 2010, but it proved the perfect platform into a new career when seven months later a paid role became available.

He said: “I enjoyed being around a close-knit and friendly team of paid staff and fellow volunteers and was able to utilise my existing skills and knowledge to my fullest effect.

“I was able to gain work experience and qualifications through my volunteering (I completed a Level 3 NVQ in Business Management whilst I was volunteering), which then led to a paid job in September 2010 that I have been in ever since.

“It has helped me gain confidence and a sense of being within a community again as well as given me self-belief in my abilities and skills.”

His experience not only led to a new career but also led him to continue volunteering long term.

Jody, 37, of Boston, continues to volunteer as a dog walker at Jerry Green Dog Rescue, in Algarkirk, and on resident committees Witham Central and Carlton Road Neighbourhood Action Group and High Street South and Boston East Neighbourhood Action Group. With LCVS, Jody has previously worked in East Lindsey and is now area officer in Grantham and Boston. His role involves promoting and enabling volunteering and supporting community groups with things like funding and policies.

Jody said: “Volunteering is very fulfilling and can help change lives. It certainly has mine!

“There are many roles that people can do and I believe there is a voluntary role for everyone out there whatever your skills and experience may be. I would definitely encourage people to give it a go.”

LCVS supports people to volunteer in Boston, Spalding, Louth and Grantham in a wide variety of roles ranging from radio presenting to race marshalling.

Age: 20
Position: Supply Chain Placement Student
Location: Scunthorpe
University: University of Lincoln
Course: Business and Marketing

What is your role within British Steel and what does it involve?

“I’m currently forming part of the Supply Chain Outbound Logistics department. Within the team I regularly assist in the invoice tracking for deliveries. I’m also working on improving the current system we use for tracking, to make the process more automated and therefore reducing time spent on the task. This is important as it’s keeping with the companies continuous improvement strategy that it is integrating into its culture. 

“My main project I’ve been given responsibility for is the renewal of all rail crossing signage out on site. This is a complex task due to the size of the Scunthorpe site. There are nearly 100 signs that need to be renewed and with each one come a lot of assessments, precautions and procedures that need to be put in place prior to work. The key I’m finding to this task is ensuring continuous communication with suppliers, engineers, plant managers as well as the other colleagues needed to execute this task.” 

Why did you choose to work for British Steel?

“Being fairly local to the area, I already had prior knowledge of British Steel before joining and therefore had some indication to the impressive scale of the operation. Upon further research I found more information that only impressed me further, including the employment rate of around 4,000 people, a site more than 2,000 acres in size with over 100 miles of internal rail and 40 miles of road. 

“I also was keen on the idea of working in large-scale manufacturing and with 150 years of heritage and an operation that produces 3 million tonnes of quality steel products every year, I couldn’t say no to the opportunity.” 

How would you describe British Steel’s culture and how you fit into it?

“The culture at British Steel is very traditional but takes on new aspects of modern thinking. Many employees that work here have decades of experience under their belts, which fuels passion and pride within the workplace. You can learn something new from everyone you meet here, and there’s plenty of people to meet. 

“I feel I fit into this culture purely by willing to learn from everyone here and also by bringing my own ideas to the business.” 

How do you think your experience at British Steel will help with your future career goals?

“I feel the name British Steel carries a lot of respect with people across the country appreciating the scale of work that it does – it’s definitely an impressive and stand-out name to have on your CV. 

“More importantly there are lots of opportunities here to grow your skill set in many different environments and even secure permanent positions with British Steel as it’s always looking to grow its workforce.” 

What do you think is the best thing about working for British Steel?

“The thing I like most about working here is the diversity of the work. Working in a large-scale organisation can throw up interesting challenges in a range of fields. Even on my own project, which in theory should be repetitive, there are always new issues that need to be resolved. One of the best things about this is it takes you out of your comfort zone. There are always people willing to help but knowing you got through an issue using your own initiative, meeting people and gaining insight you wouldn’t have done otherwise, is very rewarding.” 

What do you find most challenging about working for British Steel?

“The most challenging bit is finding the right contacts. On a site as big as this, there are many people with different roles and responsibilities so finding the right person who can help you can sometimes be time-consuming.

“Also, when first starting in the job, driving on site can be rather daunting, especially when you’re only given a location of an office building that sometimes is only as big as a house. But once you’ve been on site a few times, it does get a lot easier.” 

Can you describe British Steel in 3 words?

“I would say huge, proud and iconic. I’ve already mentioned the size of the site and the pride of those working within it, but I think it’s the heritage that is a defining feature of the company. Since the recent rebranding, the heritage has been used as a building block to develop a strong brand and culture for the modern workplace.”

Do you have any advice for people currently applying to British Steel?

“There is a definite British Steel culture and going from my experiences, recruiters choose people that will fit into this and integrate into one of the teams. 

“Speaking from my experience as a placement student, I don’t think your past experience or education is any more important than your attitude to work. You’re here to gain the experiences of British Steel so it’s more important that your personal values align with that of the company.”

As part of a four week work experience placement with Lindum in the summer of 2014 Rosie got to know the company and some of the people first hand so when the trainee position was advertised Rosie had no hesitation in applying for the vacancy.

The Priory City of Lincoln Academy is a school which has a well-established working relationship with Lindum and both support the Career Academies UK, a national charity that links schools and colleges with employers to help prepare young people for the world, through which Rosie’s initial work experience was organised.

Sara Hobson, Group Training Manager for Lindum, was appointed as Rosie’s mentor through the programme, she explains “As a local company we work with many local education organisations to help support the training and development of young people and this particular initiative run by the Careers Academies UK has proved very successful for both the students and employers. Students get real life experience of working in a commercial environment and employers gain fresh ideas and inspiration from the students input and what could be even better than when they come work for us!”

Since starting work for Lindum, Rosie has quickly established herself as a valuable member of the team and is enjoying her new career. Working as part of the Training Team, Rosie is responsible for organising events and administering the company’s extensive training and development programme. Not only is she helping train others Rosie is herself now a qualified ‘Construction Ambassador’ after successfully completing the CITB course and is actively involved in promoting careers in construction to young people.

“I consider myself very fortunate to work for Lindum and have enjoyed every minute here so far” said Rosie. “The people I work with are both supportive and encouraging in my ongoing career development and the variety of duties I get to carry out as part of my job role makes my work interesting and very rewarding. One day I could be representing Lindum at a local careers fair and the next day arranging an in-house training event for over 30 people, there is never a dull moment!”

Rosie is currently enrolled on the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) level 3 course and is completing this alongside other trainees at Lindum.