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Uniformed Public Services students enjoyed a workshop from a serving Royal Marine on Friday (October 25) in a session aimed at helping them think about their career options.
The Royal Marine, who can’t be identified for operation reasons, spent the afternoon with seven students who are considering applying to join the armed forces.
He spoke about his career, put them through a physical session aimed at helping them learn how to build their own training programme, and taught them some memory skills with a game.
Matt Lavallin, Head of Sport, Travel and Uniformed Public Services, said the students had enjoyed the afternoon and learnt a lot about the armed forces.
“Our focus as a college is getting our students ready for their careers, and workshops like this really benefit our students,” he added.
“We discuss career options in class, and then in tutorials we talk to each student about which would suit them best and how we can help them get the skills, experience and qualifications they need.
“There’s no substitute for hearing directly from a Royal Marine about his own experiences, and the students were really grateful to him for his insight.”
The Royal Marine, who has served tours of duty across the world, told the students about his career path, his experiences of deployment, and what life as an elite soldier is like.
He also told them about entry requirements, the rigorous 32-week Basic Training programme, and gave them advice on how to reach the physical fitness required in order to apply.
The students then performed a gruelling circuit of bodyweight exercises including walking gecko press-ups, burpees, super push-ups, reverse lunges and squat jumps, as well as shuttle runs.
Finally, the Royal Marine taught them some memory techniques and explained how the skills are used in services, and the students got to try out the tips for themselves with a quiz.
Hayden, a first-year student on Level 3 Uniformed Public Services, said he wanted to become a Royal Marine since he was 12, and chose his qualification at Nescot to help him prepare to apply.
“The discipline, hard work and teamwork really appeal to me,” he said. “The role sounds really varied, because you do everything from aid work to being involved in combat.
“It was amazing to actually meet a Royal Marine and to be able to ask him questions about what it’s really like. I enjoyed the training as well, and it’s given me lots of ideas of what I can be doing.
“I’m really enjoying my qualification at Nescot, and I think what I’m learning and all the experience we’re getting is going to help me in the future for me career.”
Nescot offers Uniformed Public Services at Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. Past students have gone on to join the police, become paramedics, and to read Law at university.