My time at the WCIA
by Ellie Kimpton
What did you do during your week?
During my week of work experience at the WCIA, I mostly helped towards the preparations for the Mock COP on Thursday (11/7/19), made 2 bilingual Facebook posts, wrote 2 blogs and translated English documents into Welsh amongst other things.
Highlight of your week?
The highlight of my week was definitely the Mock COP event itself.
I had no idea of the enthusiasm and innovative ideas these teenagers had for Climate Change (which was the topic), which was so refreshing to listen to.
What surprised you the most?
The atmosphere. Everyone there is so friendly and supportive.
What did you find challenging?
For me personally, the technology was a struggle. As everything there was mainly technology based, my knowledge of technology was quite basic. I had never used XCEL before which is a frequently used programme there, however as I said, everyone there is really supportive and so I soon learnt what was what.
What skills did you develop?
I would definitely say I benefited from this week of work experience greatly. Not only regarding important skills like teamwork, communication (the meetings) and problem solving (no Wi-Fi, no printer) but ones like confidence and independence. I was definitely surprised how independent I was by the end of the week. Being a secondary school student, using and developing these important skills like initiative and being independent isn’t practised often or indeed enough but I am definitely more confident in making decisions now rather than relying on constant validation from others when completing a task.
And of course one of the most important skills I was looking to improve on during my week at the WCIA was to improve my knowledge on global issues. By the end of the week I was aware of the different programmes the WCIA were supporting, working on and in partnership with. The blog on a global issue was another fantastic opportunity, as I got to brainstorm ideas with members of staff, whilst looking at the problems as a whole and then considering possible solutions. I then chose a topic, researched it in detail and wrote a short essay on it.