InThisIssue
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Idea
of the Month
Cannon
U.K.
A Week That
Works
Students spend a week
at Cannon's plant in the United Kingdom and learn all that a manufacturing
company has to offer in the way of career and employment options.
Like many students her age, 16-year-old Fiona Cunningham
isn't sure which career path to take. But thanks to an innovative program
at Cannon UK, she has a much better idea than she did before.
Dubbed "Week at Work," the program gives children of Cannon UK employees
the opportunity to spend time in the corporate and manufacturing environment
so they can see for themselves what their parents' jobs entail. It also
gives Cannon UK the opportunity to show the students all that a manufacturing
company has to offer in the way of career and employment options.
Fiona, the daughter of product manger Graham Cunningham, was one of two
students to participate in the past year. The other was Charlene Baganz-Moore,
daughter of publicity manager Brytta Baganz.
Reflecting on his daughter's experience, Graham Cunningham noted that
Fiona learned more than she could have just by attending school. "Because
she was taught about the industrial revolution, she thought the plant
would be a noisy, dirty place," he says. "She didn't expect all the technical
aspects of it. I don't think industry gets good press, and when she saw
it first hand she got a pleasant surprise."
Fiona, who spent time in a number of departments, found other surprises
as well. "Before I started my Work Experience at Cannon, I imagined that
the workplace would be quite dull," she says. "I was surprised to find
that the jobs in each department were very different, although what most
surprised me was that the employees of Cannon seemed to enjoy their work,
and have fun while they completed it."
While the students still have plenty of time to decide which career path
to take, Charlene says her Week at Work helped narrow her focus. "Being
part of a big team is fun," she says, "and you have the chance
to work in different roles if you want to. I couldn't see myself in the
same job for over 40 years, but I can see myself being part of the same
company, and at ITT you could even work in more than one country during
your career.
"My work experience at ITT has influenced my choice of subjects for college
and for the future on a whole, I definitely want to work for a large company."
Next
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We're
looking for ways we can be a more productive, efficient and responsive company.
If you have a best practice that you want to share with your co-workers
around ITT Industries, send a short summary along with a contact name to
Tom.Martin@itt.com. We look forward
to hearing about all the great things you are doing at your site.
"What most surprised me was that the employees of Cannon seemed to
enjoy their work, and had fun while they completed it."
- Fiona Cunningham |