To conclude her first year of university, Jacinta joined us on a 70-day work placement as part of her studies to become a Social Worker. We sat down with her on the final day of her placement to find out a bit more of what she got up to whilst at Birmingham Settlement.
What made you choose Birmingham Settlement to complete your work experience?
“I didn’t choose the location myself; my university chose it because they felt I had a lot to learn from Birmingham Settlement – most of the things being done here are aligned with social work policies and procedures.”
What was your favourite part of the work experience?
“I have lots of favourite parts! I would say I enjoyed the parts where I got to participate in groups where I would work with adults or young children; participating in lots of activities – I liked them and enjoyed all of those activities.”
Did you learn any new skills during your time with us?
“Yes, I would say that I’ve grown personally and professionally being here at Birmingham Settlement. First of all, my confidence has grown since joining Birmingham Settlement and also my listening skills. I have improved so well in my listening skills and also being able to communicate with people – I think I do that better now than when I first joined.”
What kind of tasks did you do as part of your work experience?
“I helped out at the Dementia Café, the Cyber Savvy Digital Skills sessions, the Wellbeing Workshops, Little Settlers Stay, Learn, and Play, the Learning Disability group, Cuppa & Chatter, and many other activities. There were lots of them! Also supporting the Money Advice team and the Nature & Wellbeing Centre where I participated in the Social Walk and Talk and Branching Out for adults with learning disabilities.”
Jacinta also helped out with the day-to-day admin at the Sports & Community Centre, from supporting on the reception desk – answering phone calls and speaking to visitors, to helping out with printing, laminating, and other creative tasks.
What 3 words would you use to describe Birmingham Settlement?
- “Welcoming
- Inclusive
- Non-judgmental”
Jacinta is the first work experience volunteer we have had in a while and is a bit of a full circle moment for Birmingham Settlement – much of our very early work involved offering work placement residentials and accommodation for training Social Workers in collaboration with the University of Birmingham. This continued throughout the majority of the 20th century, when our sites at Summer Lane (Newtown) and Kingstanding had facilities to house trainees who lived and worked onsite, offering support and activities to our communities.
Our work changes with the times and the needs of our local people, therefore our work experience looks very different to what it once was, however with much of the same premise – to support people in our communities, creating opportunity and choice through action, activities, and shared learning. Jacinta’s story is a great example of how a work experience placement with us can build valuable skills, increase confidence, and open different doors for future career development.
Interested in volunteering with us?
We have plenty of volunteering roles available from age 16 – from admin, events support, site maintenance, assisting in our charity shops, and more. Not only is volunteering time well spent helping your community, it can teach you valuable skills, increase confidence, and help you meet new people.