Bedminster Down take off to Bristol Airport
Bristol WORKS took a group of Year 7-9 students from Bedminster Down School to Bristol Airport to learn about the large number of job roles which exist there. Students began their day travelling on the Bristol Flyer bus – the same way many passengers would travel to and from the airport. On arrival, they met Harry Ellis, the Corporate Affairs and Community Engagement Executive, who took students on a tour of the main terminal building, explaining the passenger journey from arrival at the airport, to departing on a plane. Through this process, students got a first-hand insight into the different careers which are required to enable the operation of the airport. 
After learning about the different airlines which Bristol Airport work in partnership with, students moved on to the see how passengers pass through security. They were interested to learn that during the summer holiday season, 40,000 passengers pass through the airport through departures and arrivals. With this in mind, students got an understanding of the need for the organisation to do all they can to process passengers as efficiently as possible, to ensure they have a positive experience.
On completion of the tour, students travelled by a staff bus to a building to see where lots of the employees from the airport work. Whilst there, they watched a presentation covering many aspects of the airport from its history, to special events they have hosted such as a world record breaking number of hot air balloons taking off from their runway. Another representative from the airport who works in recruitment then shared information about different careers including apprenticeships. Students were excited to learn about how they could start an apprenticeship at the age of 16 and be both learning and earning, and then on completion of the four year course, have double the salary they started on.
The day concluded with a special visit to a staff only rooftop terrace which overlooked the runway. They could also see down into the private runway which they learnt had previously seen the Manchester City football team and Beyoncé arrive on private aircrafts at different times.
Students were excited to learn that if the airport was somewhere they chose to work in the future, that they would get free travel on the Airport Flyer. This was a bonus to the many different employment opportunities that exist there. Also learning about specific pathways such as apprenticeships was a great way for them to visualise their years ahead.
