3 months into my role at Southwark Council

Synergies between Charter, community and council; 3 months into LBS

Much can be said for the benefits of working for the council within whose boundaries you grew up. The commute tends to be shorter, you get personally impacted by the work you’re doing, and you have developed insight into what is actually needed from your council. Since joining Southwark 3 months ago as the new Digital Project Support Officer, these benefits have only become clearer. This local benefit was highlighted through returning to the school where I studied from Year 7 through Sixth Form.

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Jamie Penston-Raja

I grew up at the boundary of Southwark and Lambeth, studying at The Charter School North Dulwich. I returned to talk to current students as an alumni student who, according to the organisers at least, has had some success since leaving.  The students, finishing their first year of A levels - and about to decide on whether university was the right path for them - were looking for insights into the various avenues into the working world.

I was one of an eclectic mix of post-Charter success stories. While there were a number of us talking of the benefits of university study, this was healthily mixed with those who have followed different paths. Be that managing local businesses or developing personal interests into a career in creative industries, there were examples that your future is malleable, and not restricted to your UCAS value - or decisions made at age 17. As someone who struggled with mental health at various points at university, largely due to the self-imposed push to go straight from college to university without a break, I was pleased to see alternative possibilities shown so positively.

Questions about these alternatives were of course very present as a result. For my part, I tried to show the diversity of options that can be found from an employer such as Southwark Council. As an apprentice myself, I highlighted the benefits of the programme - dedicated time spent on off the job training, support at work and college to gain new learning experiences, and practical experience of project management building into my portfolio. Not just as a benefit to my personal development, but investing in people to improve the services of the council itself. This positive understanding of apprenticeships seems to have increased since my time at Charter, where at the time, university seemed the only option.

Part of the excitement for taking a job at Southwark Council has always been about contributing towards my local area in a tangible way. It is one of my motivations for working in the public sector: to serve the public as best as I can. Hopefully my time spent back at school has been useful for those involved, and gone some way to fulfilling this ideal.

Written by: Jamie Penston-Raja

Page last updated: 16 September 2019

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