Kenza is a Year 10 student from Sarah Bonnell School in Ilford. Kenza gained a work experience placement at Lloyd’s of London and here tells us about her placement and how many opportunities it has awarded her.

Please provide a short outline of your current role and a brief description
I am currently a Year 10 student who attends Sarah Bonnell School and am studying for my GCSE’s. I chose to take up this opportunity (work experience at Lloyd’s of London) in order to gain an understanding of the importance of Lloyd’s of London insurers as a company, as well as raising my awareness and understanding of career paths within this sector.

Tell us about your experience on the work experience
To begin with, this experience was truly remarkable because of the variety of opportunities I gained. At the beginning I felt intimidated since I have never been in a work environment, however, I was immediately welcomed by colleagues with such bright faces, who were passionate to help me grow. During my time, I had 1-1 meetings with 28 different professionals, across 15 divisions and also attended two senior meetings, discussing high profile syndicate decisions! To say the least, I have learnt beyond what I thought would be possible, including knowledge about individual job roles, all the way to the variety of career paths to succeed in these positions.

What have you gained from the work experience?
From this experience I have gained numerous transferable skills. For example, through the many hours of 1-1 sessions talking with colleagues, I developed not only networking skills, but also communication, confidence and teamwork skills. In the end I was able to represent all my newly enhanced skills, by doing a presentation, which Jesal (the Lloyd’s of London volunteer who organised Kenza’s work experience placement) kindly organised for me. Through being challenged in this way, I was able to better my public speaking and learn how to present my ideas and experiences in an engaging way.

What are your plans once you complete the work experience?
This once-in-a-life time experience taught me everything about the Lloyd’s work industry in a high-level explanation. As a result, I am now able to think about tailoring my future career to enable me to walk this path. Due to this informative experience, I am now considering taking a degree apprenticeship after completing my A-Levels.

Tell us your top piece of advice for others considering applying to a work experience
Firstly, I would advise any person my age to use their initiative in setting up a placement. In my perspective, if it wasn’t for my determination and ambition, I wouldn’t have got this extraordinary experience. In addition, this is also a vital characteristic, since it not only opens doors, but also creates a solid candidate that many employees cherish. I would also advise that in order to get the most out of a placement, you must be proactive, prepared to network and be openly keen to learn (by asking many questions). But above all, you must be willing to take on new challenges. For instance, the presentation I delivered to a large number of experienced associates, did require a lot of resilience and bravery.