A former Ron Dearing UTC student who excelled in his studies has secured an exciting position at an award-winning smart tech company.
Lewis Taylor, 18, recently left the employer-led school’s highly successful sixth form after securing a double Distinction in Engineering and a Distinction in Digital Tech.
He is now studying a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Newcastle University but has also secured paid employment as a Support Analyst at Sauce, one of Ron Dearing UTC’s Major Partners.
Lewis, the first Ron Dearing UTC student employed by Sauce, worked full-time for the leading Hull-based software company over the summer and will now work flexible hours remotely on a part-time basis alongside his university studies.
Sauce is based at Hull’s Centre for Digital Innovation (C4DI) tech hub and specialises in working with large, traditional companies as their digital partners, creating solutions to key business challenges to keep them ahead of the technology curve.
The business’ clients include global wind power leaders Siemens Gamesa, technology innovator Giacom and the world’s largest food and beverage company Nestlé, among others.
Lewis, who provides technical support for Sauce’s clients, said: “I’m so happy to join the team at Sauce and I’m really enjoying it. It’s a great company to work for, a brilliant team and a nice office space.
“I learnt so much at Ron Dearing UTC which applies to my job and the workplace, including project management and Digital Tech skills. The Employer Partners know what kind of student the school produces, what we’ve studied and the skills we have.
“Without a doubt, being a Ron Dearing student has helped me to prepare for work and given me valuable skills, such as public speaking and great qualifications, to enable me to secure this job. I’m really grateful for the opportunity.”
Ron Dearing UTC’s Employer Partners contribute financially to the school, play a key role in developing the curriculum and set industry-standard projects for students to work on.
They also support students by providing careers information, advice and guidance, as well as offering work experience opportunities and potentially apprenticeships.
The employers help to equip Ron Dearing UTC students with the skills they want to see in their future employees, ensuring they are work-ready when they leave school.
Rachael Taylor, Business Strategist at Sauce, said: “Lewis is an outstanding young person and we’ve been blown away by his maturity and work ethic. He’s already excelled in this short space of time and we know he’ll go far.”
Rachael said there will be other potential opportunities for Ron Dearing UTC students to join the Sauce team in apprenticeship, full-time or part-time positions in the future.
She added: “Due to the pandemic, it’s unlikely this industry will ever go back to full-time office-based working, and will instead operate a hybrid approach to also working remotely. We trialled a new way of work experience with four Ron Daring students over the summer to help them understand remote working.
“We set the students a UX-based project, had daily stand-ups and offered them learning resource sessions before they presented their work to us and we gave them feedback.
“We want to show how they would apply for a position online and how they would interact with that employer to help them prepare for the future.
“The Ron Dearing link is fantastic for us and we’re proud to be a Major Partner.”
Glenn Jensen, Senior Assistant Principal for Employer Engagement at Ron Dearing UTC, said: “We’re delighted Lewis has secured this fantastic position at Sauce and we know he has a bright future ahead of him.
“Opportunities like this are brilliant for our students and this is yet another example of why employer-led learning works.
“We wish Lewis all the very best for the future and look forward to seeing him shine in this important growing and evolving sector.”