Careers: Opportunity with South Staffs Water
This is the third year of South Staffs Water’s Young Innovators’ Panel - an exciting opportunity for Sixth Formers to get involved in the running of one of the largest businesses in our region. Students will gain valuable work experience, working closely with senior executives at South Staffs Water to bring their views as young adults into the company’s decision-making process for the future.
They are hand-picking 24 individuals from the students that apply to join the panel which will allow their voices to be heard at executive level and provide a unique opportunity for them to kickstart a career in the world of business. They must live in the South Staffs Water region to take part (see map), and applications will be chosen based on suitability, and to ensure a diverse panel of students representing all schools in the area.
How will Sixth Formers benefit?
They will have real influence on the decisions made by senior management as well as:
- Seeing inside the workings of a major business.
- Meeting other like-minded students from around the region.
- Getting a formal reference for use in UCAS or apprenticeship applications.
- Receiving a £100 reward for taking part.
What’s involved?
The Young Innovators’ Panel will attend meetings on two occasions, Wednesday 11 June and Wednesday 9 July at South Staffs Water’s headquarters in Walsall. The meetings will start at 10am so applicants need to be able to get to Walsall for this time. Individuals will be reimbursed for all travel expenses to panel meetings. The meetings will finish at approximately 4pm and will include a mix of briefings from senior executives about the business and the challenges it faces, and facilitated problem-solving exercises.
The Young Innovators’ Panel will work in teams to come up with a social media campaign to encourage people to switch to metered billing and/or become community advocates for metering to help others in their area embrace this change. The teams will be asked to think about targeting content to specific audiences, communicating and prioritising key messages, and the channels they should use to do this. This in turn will provide practical work experience for students.
Between the two panel meetings, members will prepare team presentations on their social media campaign. At the second meeting these will be judged by a panel of senior executives at South Staffs Water, providing valuable experience in teamwork, presentation skills, networking and creating effective company communications.
Who should apply?
- Someone who enjoys working in teams and wants to work on their presentation skills.
- Someone who enjoys getting their point across: taking an active part in class discussions and debates and problem-solving.
- The Panel is relevant to students of all subjects. For example, Geographers reflecting on water efficiency and the challenges of water resources; Business students looking to develop their awareness of business plans and decision making; Performing Arts students focusing on presentation and delivery; and anyone who’s interested in communications and social media skills.
What do I do if I want to apply?
- Contact Mrs Mills for further details and links to a video of the 2023 winning Panel presentation.
- Apply online using this link
- Deadline for applications is 23 May 2025 and students will be informed of the outcome of their application by 2 June 2025.
- If you have questions about the application process, contact southstaffsyip@bluemarbleresearch.co.uk or call 07724 545799.
