Work Experience 2026

hi, my name is Isaac and I go to Mangotsfield school, and I've been doing work experience this week at the youth club.

Day 1 : I did a mock job interview, and some agree disagree statements all about issues that might come up at work. I then learnt about the four pillars of youth work. I then came up with a project idea to build something new for the skatepark and during the first session I asked young skateboarders what they wanted me to build.

Day 2 : I started by designing the picnic bench which had won the tally vote in the previous session and began building. I used skateboards and wooden timber to make the bench, but we ran out of wood midway through so we went to B&Q to get more wood , nails , bolts and screws.

Day 3 : After making the bench we could see it was a little too high so shortened the legs and make it more skateable. I added 3 of the 4 angle irons on the sides so you can grind on the bench without damaging it.

Day 4 : we added the last angle iron on and also added some grip on the bottom we used rubber for that (as it had slipped on the floor a bit).

The angle iron made it look good and ready for its job as a skateable object. Also the strength and stableness of the bench made it easier to land and jump over it. However the length of the bench was limited due of the skateboards which made grinding it a bit difficult, but some managed ok.

Things I've learnt this week are about the four pillars of youth work and I managed to complete level 1 and some of level 2 on the skateboard challenges poster (I have never stepped on a skateboard before)!

I've never used a circular saw before , never drilled metal before and never made a bench before, so that was some positives.

I would like to come back to the skate school and might be interested in having a job here in the future since I would love to help youths but not be a teacher and focus on helping people be more independent. I liked learning about informal education and letting young people choose what they want to do and help them achieve their goals.

But... My dream job is a varied mix of wood based engineering and manufacturing like furniture and wood carving.