T Level Business Student Leah’s Internship With NHBC
Leah Fiona Polyviou, 17, is studying a T-Level in Business at the Bletchley campus and has just completed her first year. Recently, Leah completed an 8-week internship with the National House Building Council (NHBC) in Milton Keynes.
Here, Leah shares more about what the internship involved, how it benefited her studies, and her plans for the future.
“I’ve always been interested in business, and I’m pretty good at it, so taking it as a course just made sense. Plus, it’s something I genuinely enjoy, which is really important when you’re studying something every day.
I found out about the internship through Gary, who’s part of the employer team at MK College. He introduced us to the NHBC internship during an assembly, and later, we met with him again to get more details. I had to apply for the internship through the NHBC website. The application process involved interviews at the NHBC office in Milton Keynes. There were seven of us from MK College, all studying different things—mostly business, but also some students from bricklaying courses. We had to choose which departments we wanted to work in, and I chose Customer Service.
Working at NHBC was a totally different experience from college. The whole work environment was new to me, but everyone there was really friendly and helpful. If I ever got stuck, there was always someone nearby to help me out. One of the biggest things I learned was how to communicate better. Being in a new environment with different types of people was a real eye-opener. It took some getting used to—arriving at 9 am every day and staying until 5 pm—but after a while, it became routine. I also learned a lot about how to grow and develop in a career, like how you can move between departments and try new things.
During the internship, I mostly did work shadowing and learned to use their computer systems. The best part was attending meetings and conferences, especially the big showcase event hosted by the CEO and HR Directors. It was exciting to hear about the company’s future and talk to different people. On the flip side, the routine of doing the same thing every day was something I didn’t enjoy as much. If I were doing it full-time, I’d probably want a bit more variety.
I would definitely recommend this internship to other students. It looks great on your CV, and you learn so many new skills. Plus, it helped me figure out what I like and don’t like about working, which is super important for the future.
Now that the internship is over, I’m heading into my second year of the T-Level Business program. After that, I might look into university or maybe do another internship next year to get more experience. I’m also interested in property and development, so who knows where that might lead!”
Linda Elberts, Diversity and Inclusion Business Partner at NHBC, said, “The decision to partner with MK College to offer this opportunity to people representative of our community has been a success, and we are delighted to continue and build on this relationship for next year’s cohort.”
Interested in gaining valuable work experience like Leah? Contact the Work Experience Team at MK College to learn more about internship opportunities and how you can get involved.