ON MAY 16th the Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls offered its Year 9 Students the opportunity to meet and speak to local employers’ face to face at 15-minute intervals. This Speed Networking Event was organised by Ealing Connexions who work directly for Ealing Council and employ Careers Advisers who are based at local schools across the Borough.

With the vast choice of work and study options available to students, inviting local businesses and employers into the school, so that students can pose questions to them, seems a great way for them to find out more first-hand from local professionals.

The school are also keen to provide students with more information about careers in health and social care, so Connexions were delighted that two of Specsavers local store partners were able to offer their morning to attend the careers event.

Sneha Pancholi is a director dispensing optician at Specsavers Acton where she has been a store partner for six and half years. A graduate in 2004 from Anglia Ruskin University, Sneha’s initial training as a dispensing optician started at Specsavers Ealing, where she then progressed via the Specsavers Career Pathway scheme.

Kam Gohil, optometrist director, Specsavers Ealing, West Ealing and Chiswick has been a director at Ealing & West Ealing for over twenty-seven years, where he joined as a qualified optometrist and has been managing his current business with his business partners, since 1995.

Commenting about his career at Specsavers Kam Gohil said; ‘I really enjoy being part of the Specsavers family. I have been fortunate in that I find my career to be highly rewarding, it has also been diverse and currently includes training and examining the next generation of optometrists and dispensing opticians. This speed networking event provided an opportunity to discuss optometry with the students. Also, previously Sneha and I were business partners for two and half years, so it was a great opportunity for us to come together and support this event.’

During the Speed Networking sessions, each of the store partners met with over 200 students, a number of whom were interested in finding out more about optometry as a career. Some wanted to explore what it was like to be an audiologist, whilst a number were keen to find out the reality of running a business, and specifically within the Specsavers brand.

This was the first of a series of planned careers events at schools in the Borough of Ealing. Alison Delius, Careers Adviser, Connexions, based at Ark Acton Academy, said; ‘I was really delighted that both Sneha and Kam were able to give up some of their valuable time to support us and meet with the students. Being able to ask questions and explore different careers, and find out first-hand what’s involved, is incredibly helpful. We have found these events often inspire and motivate the students, helping them to better understand the working world – it can set them off on their career path.’

Sneha Pancholi, Specsavers Acton commented; ‘As a business owner I have always been an advocate of mentoring staff and providing regular training and career progression, so it was a great opportunity to meet the 6th formers and understand their perspective with regards to career aspirations. Afterall, they may be the business owners, retail directors, audiologists or optometrists of the future!’

Commenting on the event, Kam Gohil, Optometrist Director said; ‘Events such as these can provide a spark of interest to a student who may not have considered a particular profession. By finding out more about what is required and the actual job, they can then consider if this might be a profession they would like to train for. In my stores for instance, we offer Saturday work, which helps to make the environment more real, whilst providing work experience, which in itself, is incredibly useful.’

As an organisation, Specsavers encourage their staff to further their qualifications and progress their careers within the group. The Specsavers Career Pathway offers staff the opportunity to study for industry recognised qualifications which encompass a wide variety of roles including customer services, optician, dispensing optician, optical assistant, and hearcare assistant.

Many store partners recruit for their Apprenticeship Scheme from 6th Forms via Careers Fairs. The Specsavers Apprenticeship is a national scheme offering a selection of roles in optometry, audiology, laboratory technician, customer service practitioners and office support staff. Most of the apprenticeships last up to 13 months depending on the qualification. Applicants must have a minimum of a grade D in English and Maths to be considered. To find out more about the apprenticeship scheme and the 400 available, please visit the Specsavers website.