Introducing Mark Hesketh

Mark Hesketh has recently completed the HEE graduate scheme, we spoke to Mark about his experience and here is what he has to say:

How did you hear about the placement scheme?  

During my time at university, we were encouraged to complete a year in industry as part of our studies, so I began looking for potential placement schemes that would be willing to host me. I came across HEE on my university’s jobsite in December 2020 and was immediately intrigued by the opportunity, as working in the public sector had previously never crossed my mind. I attended a webinar to find out more about the role, liked what I heard and filled out an application. 

What did the placement scheme involve? 

My placement consisted of three separate four month placements in the North West, with the Business Management Team, the Education Transformation Team and as part of the Programme Support Team within Nursing and Midwifery. Across the three teams, I have been able to provide support across a wide range of workstreams and I have been able to learn so much about myself, the organisation, and the wider world of professional work. I have been able to do a variety of tasks as varied as organising meetings, website design, facilitating assessment centres and creating databases. This experience has been enjoyable and I will probably look to return after my studies. 

Can you tell us your number one take-away learning point from the scheme? 

Prior to starting at HEE I had a perception that the organisation would be pretty hierarchical and homogenous, with few differences between teams in the approaches they take to projects. I had not realised just how differently each team operates on a daily basis. The way that different people are able to work in different ways to each other and still effectively function as part of a team was particularly eye-opening and has made me examine my own approach to work and how to get the best out of myself going forward. 

What has been your favourite moment of the placement scheme? 

I have enjoyed the vast majority of my time at HEE, but a few moments standout above the rest. I particularly enjoyed working to arrange the Christmas party, my work on the Engagement SharePoint site, providing feedback about how to make HEE a better place to work for young people, and my contributions to the recruitment process for next year’s scheme, and meeting lots of interesting people across my year with HEE. Being able to learn from such a diverse group of people and viewpoints has been a very rewarding experience.

All 35 graduate places in September have been filled and we look forward to meeting the new cohort.