World of Work week at David Nieper Academy 2019

Recently we visited David Nieper Academy to support their World of Work Week. We were asked to support the Year 8 MasterChef competition, the Year 10 workshop known as the Owen Taylor Burger challenge and also Year 10 practice interviews.

Year 8 MasterChef

The Year 8s were split into teams and then into sub teams. Each sub team then rotated around each activity each day. One activity was to design team names and logos for their team aprons. Another was to design packaging and work out all the technical details that should be present. The final activity was to cook food from a fixed list of ingredients. This was then provided for the whole year group as their dinner. The students got to vote on which team cooked the best food. Two of our sales representatives Dale Braithwait and Mick Foley attended the events to chat with all the cooking groups and then cast the final votes which were announced at the end of the week. “Supporting this event is quite out the ordinary for me but it was really enjoyable. I was so impressed with how the students conducted themselves and got involved in the cooking. The food they produced was really good as well which helps when you try it” said Dale from Owen Taylors

Year 10 Burger Challenge

Carl Evans, Operations Manager and Danielle Trunzo, Food Safety Manager from Owen Taylor & Sons took the Burger Challenge to the whole of Year 10. The workshop took the whole morning. The activity was aimed to give the students a feel about what would be involved in bringing a new product to market including creative design, food hygiene, to product marketing. It meant they would have to work well as a team and understand their different roles and responsibilities.

“We came up with this challenge a few year ago and its been a popular activity ever since. The premise to create and present a brand-new burger for Owen Taylor’s to sell sounds easy but when they get into the technical aspects such as nutritional information, they have to get their thinking caps on”, said Carl Evans

The prize on offer for the winning team is that their burger would actually be made by our butchers and sold in The Owen Taylor & Sons shop!

The session began with teams of students thinking of a target audience and creating a fitting name for their burger, an ingredients and allergen information list.

Once this had been achieved the students assigned themselves each a role. Every team consisted of:

 

  • Manufacturers, who would handle ingredients and make the burger by hand.
  • Design/Marketing Team, who would design the packaging and posters to advertise their team’s burger, creating a slogan.
  • A Team Leader, who would monitor the other students and present with the rest of the team the finished product to our staff.

The task of considering all of these factors proved difficult at first for the teams, but after working together and getting a clear idea of what they wanted in mind, they set to work on making their vision a reality.

The results were very impressive especially from three very promising burgers, each with their own unique flairs. “The Piri Picante Patty” put flavour first, with a kick of chilli. “The Infinite Melt” used Cheese and Spice to give the meat a moist but fiery taste. And finally, “The Meat & Greet” incorporated a love heart shaped burger described as “a little something special to spice up your life.”

“The winning team had been well-organised from the start. Coming up with a clear idea, understanding the technical issues and assessing them quickly and cooking the burger with enough time spare to make the presentation look sharp. Furthermore, their Team Leader’s presentation demonstrated the unique selling points of the burger and an understanding of what the customer needs to know. For that reason, we chose our winning burger … “The Infinite Melt”! Danielle said.

Year 10 practice interviews

Just like in previous years the Year 10 get to have an interview for a fictitious retail job to enable them to prep a CV, complete an Application Form and get interviewed which for most is for the first time. Carl Evans, Operations Manager and Clair Channer, HR Manager joined other managers from other local companies to sit an afternoon of intensive interviewing. “It’s a great chance to help get students practice in what is an important skill for when they decide to enter the world of work” Clair said.

The World of Work week was again another great success. “I’m really impressed by what this school has achieved so far, and I also know that it will keep on getting better. It’s great to hear all the positive comments when our team returns from supporting these events. I am really pleased we had the opportunity to become involved how we did and would recommend other business support education in their community where possible and appropriate. Richard Taylor, MD