Helping 100 Year 10 boys through their first interview at Dover Grammar
Last month, Helen Harris (our Community & Apprenticeship Lead) and Sarah Joisce (our HR & Admin Manager) spent the day at Dover Grammar School for Boys’ Employability Day, run by EBP Kent at Discovery Park, the Sandwich-based business park that regularly hosts community events of this kind. The event gives Year 10 students their first proper interview experience: real interviewers, real feedback, in a controlled environment that lets them stumble safely before it counts.
One hundred 14- and 15-year-olds went through interviews across the day. Helen and Sarah each contributed five hours of one-to-one time across the cohort, with EBP Kent recognising the contribution against four themes: workplace skills, the job application process, personal confidence, and careers impact.
What EBP Kent does
Education Business Partnership Kent (EBP Kent for short) is a Kent-based charity that connects local employers with schools to support young people building employability skills. Their Employability Days bring volunteers from across local businesses together to interview students, offer feedback, and give a glimpse of what real workplace expectations look like.
This is the third consecutive year EBP Kent has run the event at Dover Grammar. The school sees it as a genuine positive impact on the personal confidence and aspirations of each student.
What the day looked like
Both Helen and Sarah spent the day as interviewers, sitting across from Year 10 students in 15-to-20-minute slots, working through realistic questions and providing immediate verbal feedback afterwards. For most of the boys, it was the first time they had been through anything resembling a job interview.
The pace was tight, with strict timings between sessions to make sure every student got a turn. The impact was visible by the end of the day.
What the students said
EBP Kent collected comments from students as they left their sessions:
“I really enjoyed having an interview. I didn’t think it would be a nice experience, but I was completely wrong.”
“Very useful. My interview gave me some really good feedback. Very kind and seemed impressed with my answers.”
“I think it’s really good for confidence. Especially as I haven’t done anything like this before.”
“Would have loved for it to be longer. I got on really well with my interviewer and found their feedback to be very useful.”
EBP Kent’s Natalie Coleman sent through a note of thanks afterwards:
“Giving up your time in the way that you have is an incredible gift for our charity and the school. It is becoming more and more vital that young people are able to build up a profile and evidence of experiences with employers, and your feedback, both written and verbal, will be utilised as they make their way gradually into the workplace.”
Natalie Coleman, EBP Kent
Why it matters
A Year 10 student’s first interview will happen one way or another. Saturday job applications, work experience placements, sixth form or apprenticeship interviews. EBP Kent’s Employability Days mean that interview can take place in a low-stakes setting, with someone qualified to give honest, kind feedback, before the stakes are higher.
It’s hard to overstate how much one positive interview experience can shift a young person’s confidence. The quotes above tell that story better than any report could.
We’re proud to have been part of the day, and we’re looking forward to year four. It echoes our work at Herne Bay High in April for their Year 10 mock interviews: same valuable exercise, different cohort, never stops being worthwhile.
Read more about EBP Kent’s work or our wider community work.