St Aidan’s Catholic Academy

Careers – the mountains we climb

By Emma Osmialowski, Careers Advisor 

Experience of the workplace – Nissan

As an academy we have strong partnerships with local, national, and global companies that work with us to create meaningful encounters with the world of work for our young men. We have worked with Nissan Skills Foundation for a number of years, offering opportunities such as work experience, F1 in schools, First Lego league and more. We were invited to Nissan’s 13th School Engineering Event in March; an annual event, inspired by the Government initiative “See Inside”. The event aimed to inspire young people to consider careers in advanced manufacturing and engineering, and to challenge negative perceptions about the UK’s manufacturing industry. It also linked to the Geography curriculum, the role that Nissan plays in supporting the economy of Sunderland and their changing environmental impact.

Supported by Nissan Graduate Engineers the event allows pupils to understand how the world is changing; technology is rapidly advancing and how engineering is playing a key role. Pupils are also taken on a tour of the final assembly line where the cars really begin to take shape and finishing touches are made. The Nissan Leaf (electric vehicle) is directly compared to other fossil-fuelled vehicles and pupils participated in several interactive STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) activities, including designing and building their own rollercoaster!