Over the February half-term, John Stevenson MP was one of 40 employers across Cumbria to host a Dream Placement student. In total 80 ambitious young people took part in the Dream Placement week with their host companies.
Dream Placement is Cumbria’s unique leadership and work experience programme organised by the Centre for Leadership Performance in collaboration with businesses, schools and colleges across the county. The programme is designed to showcase the breadth of career opportunities within Cumbria to 16-18 year olds, whilst also providing them with an insight into leadership capability and the opportunities to develop their own skills and confidence over the 6-month programme.
Dream Placement 2023 saw a record number of students offered placements due to the high calibre of applications, and the incredible support from the organisations who contribute to the programme.
Speaking John said, ‘It was a pleasure to host a Dream Placement student in my constituency office in February. The calibre of students applying for placements is always very high and this year was no different with every student undergoing a rigorous selection programme to be successful in gaining a placement.
I welcomed one student who had the opportunity to see how an MP’s office runs both here in Carlisle and (virtually) in Westminster. This was a chance to see first-hand the type of work undertaken for constituents and the ways in which Carlisle is represented in Parliament.
I also participated in an informal discussion with a couple of Dream Placement students at the University of Cumbria with many questions being asked about the work of an MP and Parliament and discussions on topical subjects.
I would certainly recommend the Dream Placement to all 16-18 year olds and look forward to being involved in the programme again next year.’
Dream Placement student Lauren added,
“I very much enjoyed my week at John Stevenson’s Office. The people at the office were very friendly and I found John to be very welcoming. I would much recommend this to any other students thinking of doing dream placement as it gives an idea of the range of activities individuals do in MP offices.”