Do you have fond memories of the two weeks you spent making tea, stapling, photocopying, and being a general skivvy while on work experience?
Lets face it, the work experience kid had a bad rep, and usually has a tough time of it. You may think the youngsters you’ve had in the office in the past were a bit useless. I mean, they couldn’t even remember how many sugars you take in your tea. But would you be a bit more willing to mentor someone if they could generate £4.3m worth of revenue for your company?
Iain Whiteside, a computer science and maths student from Edinburgh University, did exactly that during his summer placement at an energy company in Scotland. The entrepreneurial whiz kid developed an entire new service around the company’s National Grid facility, which the firm is estimating will bring in over £4m over the next two years.
Iain has now been named the most enterprising student in the UK, and picked up his £1,000 prize at the Shell Step National Final in London this week.
The Shell Step programme matches students to a small or medium-sized company to take part in a specific business or technical project relating to the company they’re placed with.
Something to consider next time the local college tries to palm a few teenagers off on you for a couple of weeks.