This year we launched our Maker City Industry Work Experience programme. We worked with 16 local young people and partnered with engineering businesses: Arup, Mott McDonald and Arcadis to focus on making a change in our city!
We started the week at KWMC, getting to know each other and setting out what to expect for the week ahead.
In the afternoon, we held taster sessions in photography, music and content creation – ran by our team here at KWMC. These taster sessions focused on building their creativity and confidence by using tech to capture and tell stories through different platforms. We were able to share insight into how we use arts, tech and digital media in our day-to-day jobs here at KWMC!
After the first day, the participants felt that they had gained confidence in their creative skills and their ability in using them in the workplace. They also talked about how they had a better understanding of the work and change that KWMC aims to make and were excited to go into the city and put their skills to the test!
On Day 2 we visited Arup, the young people were amazed by their beautiful office, which even had a big tree inside! They spent the morning working with the mentors from Arup to undergo a budgeting and prototyping activity. Using little resources, the groups worked together to design a new cutting edge bridge for Bristol.
The mentors explained that their jobs rely on thinking outside the box when designing landmarks that already exist and that factoring in material costs is super important. The young people got a lot out of this activity, they felt they had a good amount of time to think through their ideas and having a budget really added another dynamic which gave them further understanding. The afternoon was spent hearing from different members of the team about what their day-to-day lives at Arup look like, they shared some exciting new projects with the group and listened to inspiring talks about how to get into the industry.
On Day 3 we visited Mott McDonald, this work experience was based around boat building. The mentors led a challenging task where the participants worked in pairs to create motor boats that could sail in a paddling pool! It was lots of fun but also very insightful and their prototyping and engineering skills were put to the test. The group also got to meet a wide range of staff from Motts. In the afternoon, there was a round-robin where the staff, all the way up to the CEO, shared one exciting project they had worked on. The participants had loads of brilliant questions and left feeling excited for the next trip to Arcadis!
Day 4 was all about the site visit! Arcadis is working on developments at Temple Meads Train Station and the participants got to go out to the site and visualise their ideas for designing a state-of-the-art train station! Their ideas included, a farmers market, a stream train restaurant, a rooftop bar with a rooftop garden and a local gift shop where artists can sell their products to people passing by.
Once they had visualised the space, they got all their ideas down on paper and presented them back to the staff at Arcadis, who were very impressed with the level of detail and creativity!
We loved having the young people take part in our week long Maker City Industry Programme, where not only did they get a taste of working life at five different venues across the city, they were able to feed their ideas and opinions into real life projects happening here in Bristol!
Maker City Industry Programme inspires young people to get creative with their STEAM skills and put them into action! We will also have spaces on our regular Maker City Industry Programme from January 2023 on Tuesday evenings at KWMC The Factory, you can register your interest now by filling out this form and selecting Maker City – you will be added to the waiting list and offered a place nearer the time!
Week 2 of work experience
Work experience at KWMC is a life-changing opportunity for young people to immerse themselves in a professional creative industry and broaden their horizons to an imaginative world full of possibilities. At KWMC, we encourage young people to learn in a self-led, trusting environment. Rather than showing young people how to perform specific chores, we encourage young people to express themselves, learn new creative skills and thrive in areas in which they feel passionate.
To start the week, the young people completed a manual-of-me sheet. This is a self-exploration tool which we use at KWMC for people to think about their interests, their learning and working styles and how they like to communicate with a wider team. We shared our manuals with each other to help build a trusting and productive working environment.
Recruitment for our programmes is a huge part of the work we do here at Knowle West Media Centre so the cohort spent one day out in the local community, leafletting for our Jump Studio’s Summer Program. The team really enjoyed this task and portrayed a lot of confidence and care while learning about Jump Studios and sharing this with the wider community.
The photography workshop allowed young people to learn the basic theories behind photography as well as take part in a practical challenge where they used DSLR cameras and practised directing and capturing to create a photography collection used to advertise products.
The film workshop allowed young people to learn about the different job roles available in the film industry. The young people started building production companies in small groups, learning how to script write, and storyboard short film scenes as well as using graphic design skills to design and create logos.
We ran tutorials on how to design using Wacoms, Inkscape, Canva, Sketchbook and other general Mac software. These skills were used throughout the week and the cohort had the opportunity to create products using KWMC’s laser cutter, vinyl cutter and heat press, focusing on Social Action and design which helps the wider community.
Throughout the week the cohort was able to start their Bronze Arts Awards. This meant that while gathering new skills and exploring new creative practices they were also able to work on their own personal projects and gain a qualification.
We will be running Work Experience again next year in July, register your interest for Work Experience 2023 here!
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