sportsforall wrote:
My team employs an intern every year, they spend third year of University with us on a paid placement.
Every year we have over 100 applications for one placement. This year it was 135 and we got down to two excellent candidates, impossible to separate them. At the end of to the process the two final candidates were given to me to make a decision. I had 15 minutes on the phone with each of them. One had done the Gold DofE, and that won out. Someone who is prepared to pursue the challenge over a long period of time develops some very useful skills for our industry.
We often offer full-time roles to past interns when they graduate, so in this case it really could be a difference to their long-term career.
I won't hesitate to encourage my girls to do DofE ideally all the way to Gold.
I would cautiously suggest that it is NOT the DoE at Gold that got them the place, but
the skills they learned. It would be an EXTREMELY short sighted employer who, when faced with two candidates where one had gone out of their way on their own - not part of a recognised scheme - to arrange voluntary work experience, learn a new skill, do something for their community etc and think they were not worthy of consideration.
I am not negating that Gold DoE is more worthwhile than Bronze or Silver, (and have always advised that the Bronze is a tick box, the Silver less so and the Gold the only really worthwhile one, now that the vast majority of schools put all or nearly all their children through it) just that if a student goes out and does the stuff, unfettered by the requirements/structure/support of the Award, that is possibly more impressive!