In July, we welcomed students from Norton Hill School to our Radstock HQ, for an exclusive factory tour.
The tour was organised by Robert Weeks, a former CFH employee who transitioned from his role as Product Manager to pursue teaching. After completing his teacher training, he began his role at Norton Hill School, local to our Radstock site. Earlier this year, he was promoted to Careers Lead, which involves overseeing the careers provision for all years. Part of this involves supporting a pilot scheme to give specific young students additional work experience and employer encounters.
When tasked with organising an employer visit, CFH was at the front of his mind - and we were more than happy to welcome two groups of students for a factory tour, for the first time ever!
The tour began with a talk hosted by Jon Marsh (Commercial Director/ Radstock Managing Director) and Steve Cray (Production Director). They discussed their own career journeys, how CFH has grown over the past 50 years, and what sustainability looks like within the print and communications industry.
Adam Harwood (Radstock Managing Director), then led smaller groups across the production floor to see how all CFH’s communications are printed and produced. Students were able to observe the machinery in full operation, producing a variety of printed materials, including lithographic handouts and colourful documents from our digital presses.
The day finished with a Q & A session - with lots of questions being asked, some silly and some serious!
Back at school, the students created digital documents discussing their future career aspirations. They then used CFH’s hybrid mail tool, Docmail, to send the printed copies to themselves.
The Docmail process involves uploading a digital document, choosing how it’s printed, entering the address(es) of the recipients and proofing the document. Once the user is happy, they approve the order where CFH then print, enclose and post the document, so that the end user receives a physical copy.
This was an interesting task for the students, as they didn’t just hear about the process; they were able to experience it hands-on it from start to finish.
Rob said: “the whole encounter was invaluable to help the students realise that such a large, friendly employer with a multitude of job roles is on offer just around the corner.”
Hosting the students from Norton Hill School was a fantastic opportunity for our teams to showcase our operations. We hope to welcome more local schools in the future and play a small part in inspiring the next generation.
And who knows… perhaps we’ll see some of these students back in the future, but this time as employees!
* This activity was delivered as a part of the Future Ready Fund; funded by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority and The Careers & Enterprise Company.
