Petans intern helps charity mark its 50th anniversary

Petans, a Norwich-based provider of emergency response, safety and survival training, has offered work placements to local students for a number of years. 

It recently engaged with the Coastal Energy internship programme, supported and administered by The Ogden Trust, to provide a 20-day internship for Keely Freeman, a student at University Technical College Norwich (UTCN).  

“As a registered charity with longstanding connections to both our sector and our community, we look for initiatives that have potential to support both – and The Ogden Trust aligns with this,” said Andie Richards-Marshall, business manager at Petans. 

“We enjoy giving young people an opportunity to experience a workplace, and we endeavour to give them exposure to not only projects but the wider employability skills that are difficult to experience in a school or college environment.”  

The Coastal Energy scheme was established in 2016, starting with four students and now delivering around 40 internships a year.  

It is designed to provide students with real and meaningful placements that utilise and enhance their STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) skills in a business environment.  

Each student is paid £850 to deliver a project for their host company. This is usually covered by the host company, with the bursary paid in full to the intern. All other costs are absorbed by The Ogden Trust.  

On this occasion Petans was included in a wider project, designed to promote and facilitate collaborative working through the local supply chain, with the bursary supported and funded by the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Community Fund 

“Often it's about finding a project that companies don't necessarily have time for, but which is meaningful and adds value,” said John Best, who developed the Coastal Energy programme with The Ogden Trust and is also a Petans trustee.  

“It is also an opportunity for students to add something credible to their CV – and it may even lead to an apprenticeship or employment with the host company.”  

With Petans celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the charity worked with John Best to develop a project that would help it celebrate the landmark.  

“We have a vast amount of material – photos, paper cuttings, reports – but it had no semblance of order,” Andie explained.  

“The aim of the project was to create a database of material to depict our history, and which we can utilise to promote our company and celebrate our achievements.”  

Keely was asked to “turn detective” for her internship, Andie added. 

“I gave Keely a box of documents and photos, along with access to our marketing drive, and asked her to create a project plan with some tangible outcomes.  

“It required organisational skills, lateral thinking, attention to detail and a desire to understand.”   

Keely, who wants to do something “museum-based” as a career, said she enjoyed the research side of the project. 

“A lot of the material wasn't dated, so a large part of the work was research-led,” she explained. “For example, I had to date a photo of a helicopter by using the helicopter tail number to see where it may have been at that time. 

“That is the sort of thing I like doing – trying to find the context behind something.”  

She believes students have a lot to gain from internships. 

“It’s good to have a taster before entirely dedicating yourself to a career path,” she added. 

“It’s longer than a week of work experience, but you’re also not committing to a project for a number of months, so it’s just enough to get a real feel for it.” 

Callum Cooper, another UTCN student, also visited Petans during his internship with Nu-Gen Energy Services.  

As part of his project for Nu-Gen, Callum was asked to provide a young person’s perspective on how STEM subjects relate to real jobs in the energy and rail sectors.  

Petans was one of the other host companies that Callum visited to gain a better understanding of the opportunities and barriers to entry for young people.  

For more information about Petans, visit petans.co.uk, email info@petans.co.uk or call 01603 891255. 

To learn more about the Coastal Energy programme, visit ogdentrust.com/funding/coastal-energy