Daniel West: My Work Experience at Osborne Property Services

Daniel West, a local resident and student of Langley College, Slough joined us on a work placement gaining on the job learning.  Over a period of six weeks, Dan spent time in various departments to gain a better understanding of the roles within our business.

From day one, Dan shared his enthusiasm and commitment, with a real ambition to learn as much as he could from our dedicated teams.  His approach to listening and asking questions has helped Dan to navigate his career pathway for the future.

Soon after his work placement graduation, Daniel got in contact with us to ask if we could supporting him in his preparation to be work ready. Although we felt that Daniel was ready to enter the workforce, he wanted to fine-tune his interview skills and build up some confidence in work settings.

Our passionate Trainee Social Value Manager, Sairah Ghalib invited Daniel back into our office where she provided dedicated coaching on effective interview techniques, did some confidence-building activities with him, and enhanced his current CV. We were very impressed by Dan’s personal growth and ambition, so much so that we created a job opportunity for Dan to apply.  Dan came to the interview very well prepared to the interview and clearly demonstrated his ambition and commitment to work with us. We subsequently are delighted to have offered Daniel an Apprenticeship and look forward to seeing his career pathway develop with us.

Now, to hear a little bit more from Dan about his experience with us:

Daniel West, Business Admin student at Langley college: ‘I was introduced to Osborne by my tutor Michelle as she recognised that my skills were best suited to their office environment.   I started my work experience in April 2022, coming in 1 day a week for 6 weeks.

Before I started my work experience, I thought I was going to be doing a lot of desk work, but it turned out a lot different from what I had expected. I spent some time with the Call Centre and Planners.  I spent a day with the Empty Homes team and found out the role of Estimators. For the most part, I was with the Engagement/Social Value team – which is a lot different from what I thought I would be doing at Osborne. Spending time with this team has helped me think about my future and has made me realise I’d like to pursue a career in community engagement.

My most memorable moment at Osborne was at the Slough Children First event held at Slough & Eton School. I helped set up the hoopla and soft archery activity for children in care and foster families. I enjoyed being part of making the children smile and working in a great team – I enjoyed myself thoroughly that day. I felt like I’d really accomplished something and felt a sense of achievement when I went home that evening.

Overall, my work experience went really well at Osborne. I got what I wanted out of it and more – learning the ropes of a business in an office environment. I learned that there is pressure in an office, and I also learned how to overcome it. I also have more of an idea of what I would like to do in the future.

College feedback:

Michele Clarke, Langley College: I would like to share with you that Daniel has shared some incredibly positive feedback about his work experience at Osborne Property Services. He found the placement highly engaging and learnt so much. He has said that your employees have been tremendously patient and supportive of his learning experience.