Meet the organisations
Below are the organisations that attended Work Experience Festival in 2023. We had over 40 volunteering organisations plus part-time employers and our placements and enterprise teams. Stay tuned for the list of 2024 attendees.
A
The Army Reserve is part of the UK Defence supporting the Regular Army on deployment on operations and also on humanitarian missions as part of Military Aid to the Civilian Administration(MACA). Portsmouth has 5 army reserve units covering a range of skills from combat, engineering, logistics & medical as well as first-class military training we provide opportunities for adventure training & sport. If you are looking for a challenge, that will test you, has flexible spare time arrangements and will pay you.
What they offer:
- Part-time jobs
Aldingbourne Trust Supports adults with learning disabilities and/ or autism to live independent lives with tailored care and support in their community. We offer a wide range of services from supported living to job training and life skills programmes. Aldingbourne Trust works with individuals and groups, every thing we do is focused on enabling people to live the lives they want.
What they offer:
- Part-time jobs
Aspex is a contemporary art gallery based at Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth. Aspex works to support emerging contemporary artists and encourage people of all ages to engage with and explore contemporary art through its exhibitions, artist support programme and participation programme.
What they offer:
- Volunteering opportunities
Historically people with Learning disabilities do not have the same social or educational access/experience as others. In specialist schools, puberty is one of the few topics covered under RSE and little else. Sleepovers and days out where you discuss who snogged who or who has fallen out with whom do not routinely happen, and so understanding friendships and relationships can be significantly overshadowed by care needs. You then have a group of people entering the adult world with very little knowledge of staying safe, meeting others, sex and much more. That was a huge gap for us to fill, and bit by bit, we are supporting more and more people to have fulfilling social opportunities and extend their social network beyond paid carers.
What the offer:
- Volunteering opportunities
B
BH Live is a leading operator of leisure and event venues; a charitable social enterprise that designs and builds engaging experiences to inspire people and enrich lives. We are at the heart of our community and the UK’s growing social economy committed to improving people’s lives. It’s about having a vision. We’re driven to improve the quality of people’s lives and promote health and wellbeing to the whole community. The surplus we make is re-invested into our community
What they offer:
- Part-time jobs
We are a social care charity whose vision is to transform the culture of ageing creating a society that is kind and values age.
We do this by empowering people to live well through the provision of age-friendly places and services.
We pride ourselves on the excellent reputation we have earned in our communities, offering care homes, extra care housing and community services across the south of England.
What they offer:
- Volunteering opportunities
C
Circles of Support and Accountability is committed to encouraging and promoting the rehabilitation, treatment, education and care of persons who have committed sexual offences, with the goal of reducing re-offending. Circles are also invested in the protection of and care of victims and others affected by offending behaviour.
What they offer:
- Volunteering opportunities
Arun & Chichester Citizens Advice is an independent charity (Registration number: 1099640) and a member of the National Association of Citizens Advice. We provide information and advice to solve your problems in regards to the following:
- Debt
- Housing
- Legal
- Healthcare
- Family
- Energy
- Consumer
- Employment
What they offer:
- Volunteering opportunities
We are a social mobility charity on a mission to support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to become confident, independent and resilient so they can lead the lives they want.
We partner with Primary and Secondary schools and universities in England to run face-to-face and virtual coaching programmes. Through partnering young people with relatable role models, we aim to raise their confidence, independence and attainment.
What they offer:
- Volunteering opportunities
E
Enable Ability work in partnership with disabled children and adults, their families and carers, to provide a range of high-quality, inclusive, professional and confidential services.
What they offer:
- Volunteering opportunities
F
A race where teams compete against each other and the clock to complete a course by pushing, pulling, carrying and lifting the gun and limber (the action gear) which may be in phases (actions) and includes obstacles and mechanical aides, (walls, chasms and rigging gear) but will include drills to partially disassemble the action gear within the rules and subject to penalties of the competition.
What they offer:
- Part-time jobs
We are a registered charity working with local communities and businesses to highlight the impact of plastic pollution on our environment and to try to minimise the amount of plastic entering our local seas and wider oceans. We work with many different types of business on sustainability and to help them find ethical and sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic in their activities. We have a very busy school outreach programme and have reached thousands of children in the Solent area through assemblies and workshops. We work with community groups, giving talks and running activities and encouraging people to avoid single-use plastic and how to best dispose of it if they do need to use it. We also run regular beach and community clean-ups.
What they offer:
- Volunteering opportunities
G
Gunwharf Quays is the South coasts leading designer shopping outlet and home to over 90 famous brands with up to 60% off all day, every day.
What they offer:
- Part-time Jobs
H
Student Watch volunteers are a point of contact for students with safety concerns, and they are supported by the University Police Liaison Officer - a police officer dedicated to safety on and around campus.
What they offer:
- Volunteering Opportunities
Visit the Hampshire Constabulary Website
Every day of every week you can find us playing our part, broadening our horizons and getting stuck into the great outdoors. We have more than 15,600 adult volunteers and young people between 6 and 25 years of age enjoying fun and adventure while learning the skills they need for whatever life throws at them.
What they offer:
- Volunteering Opportunities
Home Start is a local community network of trained volunteers and expert support helping families with young children through their challenging times. We are there for parents when they need us the most because childhood can’t wait.
What they offer:
- Volunteering Opportunities
Healthwatch is the independent champion for health and social care in England. Working locally in Portsmouth, we give children, young people and adults a powerful voice – making sure their views and experiences are heard by those who run, plan and watch over health and social care services in the city.
What they offer
- Volunteering opportunities
Our vision is for Havelock Community Centre to be the heart of our local community, providing a sustainable, secure, culturally diverse and accessible space that is valued and supported by the people living in and visiting Southsea. We will promote, enable and facilitate varied and inclusive activities, which embrace and address the education, training, employment, welfare, health, social, cultural and recreational needs of the local community.
What they offer:
- Volunteering opportunities
K
In 1907 the Kings Theatre opened its doors and has ever since been a magnet for theatregoers from in and around Portsmouth and Southsea.
What they offer:
- Volunteering Opportunities
A dedicated telephone befriending service committed to providing support to individuals grappling with loneliness and often experiencing poor mental health. Our volunteers are exclusively health and social care students.
Originating from the initiative of a mental health nursing student during the national COVID-19 lockdown, our services have since evolved into a registered charity, extending our reach to hundreds of clients across our local district.
What they offer:
- Volunteering Opportunities
L
The Literacy Hubs is a charity that is working to equip children across Portsmouth with the literacy skills they need to thrive. We provide an intensive year-long after-school catch-up programme that works with children aged 9 to 13 years old. The programme works exclusively with children who have been referred by their school and who are both falling behind in their literacy progress and from a disadvantaged background.
What they offer:
- Volunteering Opportunities
Local Hospice Lottery began life in 1996 as Farleigh Hospice’s own lottery – a way of generating a regular and reliable income to help fund the care of people affected by cancer and other life limiting illnesses across mid Essex. After eleven years of running the weekly draw, the decision was made to develop the Lottery for the benefit of hospice care in other areas across Great Britain.
What they offer:
- Part-time jobs
M
Magical Maths is an after-school maths programme for primary aged children. The children participate in after-school sessions that will leave them ‘wowed’ and amazed whilst practising their curriculum maths. Magical Maths sessions are quite the spectacle; we’ve got a genius professor, world class detectives, mind reading magicians and eccentric athletes, all dedicated to making maths fun for primary school children.
What they offer:
- Part-time Jobs
N
No.6 Cinema is based in the world famous Portsmouth Historic Dockyard which is also home to many attractions and close to Gunwharf Quays. Located in the Grade II listed Boathouse 6 which was built in 1846, our 275-seat auditorium boasts one of the biggest screens on the South Coast!
What they offer:
- Volunteering Opportunities
P
PHL Group are an innovative healthcare service provider, delivering exceptional services to the NHS and independent partners.
What they offer:
- Part-time jobs
We are thrilled to be partnered with Portsmouth Football Club, where we’re committed to delivering chef-led, high-quality options in both retail and hospitality. We supply hand-filled pies, handmade sausage rolls, cakes and biscuits to venues up and down the UK including but not limited to Football, Rugby, Cricket & Horseracing venues.
What they offer
- Part-time jobs
PARCS is an organisation based in Portsmouth which works with people who have been sexually violated at any time and/or experienced domestic abuse. PARCS provides free specialist counselling and psychotherapy to all genders, aged 5 and above.
What they offer:
- Volunteering opportunities
As well as our regular and special services, Portsmouth Cathedral is home to a number of events and concerts throughout the year including music and exhibitions.
What they offer:
- Volunteering opportunities
At Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, we are proud to provide expert, compassionate care.
We are here for our local population of about 675,000 residents across Portsmouth and south east Hampshire and care for many people beyond.
What they offer
- Volunteering opportunities
Get your skates on this festive season, when Portsmouth's Guildhall Square is transformed into a winter wonderland. Portsmouth On Ice will see a real, 646sq m ice rink installed in Guildhall Square - big enough for 200 skaters per session. We will have a bar onsite.
What they offer
- Part-time jobs
Primark is an international fashion retailer employing more than 80,000 colleagues across 17 countries in Europe and the US. Founded in Ireland in 1969 under the Penneys brand, Primark aims to provide affordable choices for everyone, from great quality everyday essentials to stand-out style across women’s, men’s and kids, as well as beauty, homeware and accessories.
What they offer
- Part-time jobs
We have been providing expert educational, sports, and leisure services to the public since 2012. Our aim is to give individuals of all age groups and backgrounds the opportunity to achieve the best they can and make a positive impact on themselves and their community. The primary focus of our services is to educate and upskill the next generation and improve the physical and mental well-being of all ages. Our desire is to give everyone the opportunity to achieve their personal best, whatever their age, background, or circumstances.
What they offer:
- Part-time work
R
We are a diverse and highly motivated Company within 103 Battalion of the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers. We are, looking for people to fulfil part time positions in Engineering, Logistics, Catering and Administration. Our Reserve Soldiers enjoy access to sport, adventurous training, professional development as well as making lifelong friendships.
What they offer
- Part-time jobs
Visit the REME Army Reserve Unit website
We are an organisation with a reputation for developing innovative responses to people who are struggling to improve their family’s difficult circumstances whether from homelessness or family breakdown. We work with families, children, young people and vulnerable adults.
What we offer
- Volunteering opportunities
Visit the Roberts Centre website
S
Share (Portsmouth) was formed with the aim to make it easier for people to reduce carbon, waste and raw material use through sharing, repairing and re-use, through our two projects. Repair Café Portsmouth allows repairers to share their skills with people who have broken objects that generally aren’t able to be repaired on the high street, and Portsmouth Library of Things helps people to borrow items that they infrequently use. Both projects help to reduce waste and carbon, as well as saving people money.
What they offer:
- Volunteering opportunities
Shout is the UK's first and only free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging service for anyone who is struggling to cope.
We have taken more than two million conversations with people who are sad, worried, lonely or suicidal and who need urgent, in-the-moment support.
As a digital service, Shout became vital during Covid-19, as one of the few mental health services able to operate as normal at this time. We have seen the need for our support remain high through the UK's cost of living crisis.
What they offer
- Volunteering opportunities
Summerley Recruitment are a specialist Hospitality & Catering agency based in Chichester that provides temporary work to students for events like Weddings, Music Festivals, Sporting Events, and Christmas parties, as well as hotels and restaurants. We supply the following types of staff: bartenders, waiting staff, baristas, till staff, kitchen porters.
What they offer:
- Part-time work
T
Toucan Diversity Training was set up in 2013, as a Social Enterprise. We deliver Equality and Diversity Training, with a focus on Disability. All our trainers have direct experience of the issues they discuss. Our sessions are interactive, using different training methods such as group discussions and questionnaires.
The training aims to raise awareness of the obstacles that people face, to achieve better inclusion of the most disadvantaged groups in our society.
What they offer:
- Volunteering opportunities
V
Vespasian Security was formed in February 2006.Our diverse portfolio of regular clients including national monuments, large business facilities, live events, film locations, licensed venues, private individuals as well as local government in UK and abroad, is a testament to the trust gained by the Vespasian team.
What they offer
- Part-time jobs
Y
Our vision is for everyone to have the tools and resources they need for their journey towards the life they want.
What they offer:
- Volunteering opportunities
MyCareer
You don't have to wait for Work Experience Fest! Start browsing the work experience and part-time opportunities today through your MyCareer account.
Benefits of work experience
If you want to leave university with the best chances of a successful future, you have to go beyond the lecture theatre!
Landing a part-time job
It's no secret that the cost of living crisis has made securing a part-time job high in everyone's priorities. We've got some tips and advice to help you stand out from the crowd.
