A Week at Market Harborough Building Society
What happens when you give 12 Year 10 students access to authentic workplace experiences across multiple businesses in one intensive week? We found out during our Business Hub Work Experience CIC cohort, hosted by Market Harborough Building Society.
This wasn’t traditional work experience. No shadowing from the sidelines, no endless tea-making, no busywork. This was genuine professional immersion: rotating business volunteers, workplace tours across four local employers, hands-on workshops, and skills development that most of us don’t access until well into our careers.
Understanding Business from the Inside Out
The Host: Market Harborough Building Society
Marianne opened the week by explaining what most of us couldn’t: what actually is a building society, and why does it matter?
Students discovered a 250-year-old story that began in a Birmingham pub in 1775, when working men pooled their savings to help each other buy homes. That mutual support spirit remains today – building societies are owned by their members, not shareholders, meaning surplus profit goes back to the community through better interest rates.
The revelation? In 2023, building society savers earned £2.1 billion more in interest compared to average bank rates. Business models matter, and community-focused organisations can be profitable whilst prioritising people over shareholders.
Andy’s headquarters tour showcased modern workplace thinking: hot-desking systems, community spaces offered free to local charities, sustainability integrated into daily operations (staff-grown vegetables, wildlife encouragement, circular economy practices), and genuine commitment to local impact – including £1 million worth of donated housing for vulnerable residents.
Sessions on mortgages and financial literacy gave students practical knowledge about how lending decisions work and what to consider when making major financial commitments – insights that will serve them whether they’re buying their first home or helping family members navigate financial decisions.
The Workplace Tours
Students visited three neighbouring businesses in small groups, experiencing different industries and workplace cultures:
Welcomm Communications opened both their offices, introducing students to various departments. From business development and customer support to directors and talent acquisition teams, students saw how a communications company operates across multiple functions and how different roles interconnect.
Ink Group, an HR and payroll outsourcing company, demonstrated their apprenticeship programme and answered frank questions about early career opportunities. Students saw firsthand how “earning while learning” works in practice.
Joules HQ provided the week’s most impressive tour. The enormous headquarters housed distinct creative departments: marketing teams developing campaigns, art departments creating new designs all day, photographic studios showcasing products, and numerous other specialised functions. For many students, this was their first glimpse of how major retail brands operate behind the scenes.
Skills That Stick
Presentation Confidence
Maria from Welcomm Communications opened hearts and minds by confessing she used to make excuses to avoid presenting to even three people. Now as Head of People and Culture, she regularly presents to board members.
Her message landed: presentation anxiety doesn’t disappear, but with practice and technique, it becomes manageable. Students learned the 75% rule (most communication is non-verbal), why audience research matters more than perfect slides, and how sales pitch structure applies to job interviews.
AI Literacy
Martin’s session revealed a generational shift. Last year’s cohort was 70% negative about AI. This year’s 15-year-olds? Already using it critically for homework and problem-solving.
The Aitana Lopez demonstration – a completely artificial influencer earning $10,000+ monthly – showed AI’s disruptive potential. Students discussed which jobs will transform versus disappear, and why human skills like creativity, communication, and relationship-building become more valuable as AI handles routine tasks.
The revelation that landed: English is becoming the most important “programming language.” Effective AI prompting is the new essential digital skill.
Journalism Workshop
Students created their own articles for a themed publication they planned together. This hands-on session developed writing skills, editorial thinking, and collaborative content creation – transferable skills regardless of future career paths.
Financial Literacy
A financial adviser delivered straight talk about payslips, student loan repayments, and the university versus apprenticeship decision. Students explored the real costs of different educational paths – degree debt versus earning whilst learning – with honest numbers and long-term implications.
This wasn’t theoretical economics. It was practical information they’ll use within 2-3 years when making actual decisions about their futures.
Mental Health and Resilience
Josie, a hypnotherapist specialising in young adults, closed the week with practical neuroscience. Students learned about their “intellectual mind” versus “primitive mind,” why their brains can’t distinguish between imagining disaster and experiencing it, and how “stress buckets” fill with negative thoughts.
The practical tools? REM sleep processes emotions (why “sleeping on it” works), and three daily actions produce serotonin: positive actions, positive interactions, and positive thinking.
The “three good things” exercise transformed the room. Students moved from fidgeting teenagers to engaged young people genuinely reflecting on positive experiences. Several fell asleep during the guided relaxation – a sign of deep trust and genuine calm. All left with mental health tools they could use immediately.
What Made This Week Different
Traditional work experience often means observing from the sidelines. Students see what work looks like but don’t experience what work feels like.
This week flipped that script through:
Multiple workplace exposure: Four different businesses, each with distinct cultures, operations, and opportunities. Students saw variety rather than a single corporate environment.
Honest professional insights: Volunteers shared struggles alongside successes. Maria’s presentation anxiety. Andy’s career transition. The building society’s staff-involved design process. Real stories, not polished corporate narratives.
Practical skills: Presentation techniques, AI prompting, journalism, financial literacy, mental health tools. Not theoretical knowledge – immediately applicable skills.
Professional networks: Every volunteer shared LinkedIn profiles. These weren’t superficial connections – they were genuine professionals invested in these students’ futures.
Authentic challenges: Creating publications, understanding complex financial decisions, touring working studios and design departments, experiencing guided relaxation. Students engaged as participants, not observers.
The Feedback That Matters
One student captured it perfectly:
“This experience not only helped me build confidence, but also gave me valuable skills, professional connections, and a deeper understanding of the working world… You’ll come away with more than just knowledge — you’ll gain perspective, purpose, and preparation for your future.”
What Comes Next
These 12 students return to school with clarity. They’ve seen modern workplaces operate across multiple industries, met professionals at various career stages, developed skills most graduates lack, and built networks that will serve them for years.
Some will pursue building society or communications careers. Others will explore creative industries like those at Joules, HR pathways like Ink Group, or journalism. A few might create roles that don’t exist yet.
But all of them now understand something crucial: their background doesn’t determine their potential – their attitude, curiosity, and willingness to learn do.
That’s the point of authentic work experience. Not funnelling students into specific careers, but showing them what’s possible when they step outside comfort zones and engage with the professional world.
The Business Hub Work Experience CIC model works because it’s built on a simple truth: young people are capable of far more than we typically ask of them. Give them authentic challenges, genuine professional insights, and practical skills across multiple workplaces – and they’ll rise to meet them.
Interested in bringing The Business Hub Work Experience CIC to your area or business? We’re expanding across the East Midlands. Contact us to learn how rotating business volunteers and workplace tours create authentic work experience that genuinely prepares young people for professional life.
The Business Hub Work Experience CIC
Currently operating in Leicester, Lutterworth, Melton Mowbray, Market Harborough, and Uppingham
Expanding across Leicestershire, Rutland, and beyond