Rachel Jones, partnership manager for South Coast Workplace Learning coordinated the Work Inspirations program for students interested in a career in retail.

She had previously conducted a very successful Work Inspirations program at the Bega Valley Shire Council for those students who thought working for council might be an option for them when they left school.

At Woolworths, store manager Matthew Jorgensen welcomed the 12 students and gave then an overall view of the store.

They were then handed a personality quiz and wrote down the answers to a series of questions marking off a category which best represented the type of person they were.

They could be spontaneous or a planner, focus on facts or ideas, influenced by head or heart, or be an introvert or extrovert.

Once they’d sorted out what personality they thought they were, they were asked to write which role in the store would most suit them and why.

There was also a personality descriptor tree that combined the personality traits in different ways and divided them into the realist, the analyst, the strategist, the counsellor, the nurturer, the peacemaker, the idealist, the mastermind, the go-getter, the advisor, the trendsetter, the big thinker, the supervisor, the contributor, the entertainer and the leader.

The students were reminded that what the personality quiz discovered was not set in stone, but just a fun guide.

Students interviewing store staff was next with various Woolworths employees from produce, office, warehouse, checkouts and so on questioned on their work, their training and other aspects of their employment.

Hands-on learning was next with the students being taken to various parts of the store to see how things operated.

All the students questioned said the Work Inspiration program was well worth undertaking and also enjoyable.

Ms Jones said that if other businesses would like students to take up the Work Inspiration program she could be contacted on 0429 910 317.

The program is funded by the Federal Department of Education.