My work placement with Newydd started in January 2021, although I knew I would be starting placement, it was still a new experience and the nerves set in. The first day was scheduled meetings with the Community Regeneration team, trying to absorb as much information as possible whilst trying to remain calm but deep down my stomach was like a washing machine. All the staff were very friendly and immediately made me feel like part of the team, everyone shared their experiences on how they started in housing and provided details of their area of work.
The morning of the first day I met Shannon Maidment who was responsible for my placement and leads on Community Benefits, who is an amazing person, nothing is too much trouble, anything Shannon can help you with she will.
The meetings carried on and I met Scott Tandy and learnt about the amazing Digital Inclusion incentives that Scott has been implementing throughout the Pandemic, “needless to say I didn’t have a clue” at first, this all became clear once I started working with Scott and started researching various information whilst attending amazing webinars regarding Digital Inclusion and teams’ meetings with the team of HAPI. The work that has been created by Scott to ensure tenants become digitally included has been a fantastic experience showing that Newydd and the team really do care about their tenant’s wellbeing and needs, with iPads being purchased with data, Facebook portals have been installed, with help pages created by Scott and the team and google classroom.
I chose Retrofitting for my placement and learnt so much with Rachel, no stone will be left uncovered regarding the retrofitting and the team will ensure the project will have the best outcome for the tenants who are involved with the project.
The time spent with Newydd has provided me with practical knowledge and understanding whilst providing the experience necessary to put what has been learnt in University into practice in the workplace. The placement although being virtual has not denied me off gaining experience within the workplace, it has shown how adaptable people can be in different situations and especially within a pandemic.
I would like to take this opportunity to say how thankful I am to Jason Wroe and the team for accepting me on placement and to all the staff at Newydd for making my time enjoyable and making me feel part of the team.
