The New Face of Work Immersion

by Patricia Aurelio

As Senior High School students, being equipped with basic but necessary skills for their chosen fields is essential, considering that they are about to enter college soon. With this, a 2-week Work Immersion Program was conducted last September 19-30, 2022 among the Grade 12 students of Divine Light Academy-Bacoor, together with students from other participating schools. The said Work Immersion Program was supervised by CREOTEC Philippines Inc., one of the companies under the EMS Group. Due to the pandemic, the work immersion program was held online.

The students were grouped into 3 business units and 7 departments, in relation to their target course in college. Video lessons as well as tasks and quizzes were assigned to the students in their respective LMS, which were graded and recorded by the supervisor. Days 1-3 centered on orientation about the company, including its rules and processes among others. As for the 4th-10th day, the students were assigned varied tasks designated for each department. To help the students acquire skills and work ethics, they also learned about the company’s values and coordinated with the members from other departments, as what some tasks required. Moreover, they were able to experience working on tasks that are done in a real workplace setting.

This picture was taken during one of the meetings of the team leaders with the supervisor, where the team leaders raise their concerns and the supervisor gives specific instructions.

Work immersion in the new normal highlighted the work-from-home setup. As early as grade 12, they were already exposed to this environment through their digital screens. It was different from the pre-pandemic years, but it is hoped that their experiences will come a long way by the time they start their career in their chosen fields.

Ms. Malone Oning is the work immersion supervisor. She checks the trainees’ outputs, addresses their concerns and inquiries, and reminds the trainees of proper conduct at all times.

Below are the feedbacks of some Grade 12 students on the work immersion program:

“I thought working at home would be easier but I realized that whatever set up it is, work comes with a responsibility and a corresponding compensation or reward. CREOTEC's program did not only give us a chance to experience work but also prepared us for it. They treated us professionally and that gave me a sense of realness to the experience. To me, the most important experience was the simulation of the process and work life itself. I was also able to practice and make use of my acquired skills as well as learned and develop new ones that I will need in the future.” - Kara Arevalo, STEM Student

“My expectations were much exceeded by the job immersion experience, with the experiences and knowledge it had taught me. It provided us with videos and quizzes for the first three days as an orientation to the organization and the tasks that we would be performing. Soon after, all of the assignments assigned to us revolved on applying what we had learned throughout the first three days. It was quite difficult at initially since we did not receive adequate guidance. I found that job immersion provided me with firsthand knowledge of how an industry works. I was assigned to the accounting department, and I learnt a significant amount of information that I may use in my future profession. Overall, the work immersion experience provided us with a variety of experiences and lessons, however owing to a number of issues, work immersion students, particularly DLA students, were under greater pressure than others. For a better work immersion experience, the company could’ve focused on giving adequate management and supervision to help the students with their difficulties instead of them trying to figure it out on their own. Hopefully, in the future the company will provide adequate guidance to their work immersion learners, and provide a wide range of activities that can really let students have a great work immersion experience.” - ABM Student

“During this work immersion, I was able to introspect about my work ethics. I realized that it has improved my abilities and conceptualization skills immensely; although, my key takeaway is how it was able to build my character in such a short amount of time. Before I took part in this program, I thought that work was all about perseverance, dedication, efficiency, etc. However, now that the CREOTEC work training has concluded, I now grasp that even though it is all of those things combined, it is still so much more; it involves leadership, camaraderie, integrity, and my overall attitude. I genuinely believe that this work immersion is akin to armaments which supply our arsenal of skills, knowledge, and mentality so that we are ready for battle, that is, when we go out and courageously face the real world as we start to pursue professions in our respective career paths.” - Dwaynemarc Antonio, STEM Student

“Helpful naman and informative naman, though it could have been done in a more engaging way” - HUMSS Student

Honestly, I was intimidated about the whole program. I was expecting the supervisors to teach us every step just like in a school set up but I was wrong, you are on your own. Creotec's Philippines 10 day work immersion program gave me a glimpse of what it would feel like to work in a professional environment. It made me realize there are things I can do as a student and there are things I cannot do as a trainee. With that being said , I am more than thankful for the opportunity and experience as it taught me of my weaknesses and strengths that I never knew. Participating enthusiastically in the program will help you hone your skills in your chosen profession which would definitely be helpful in the future. - Aliya Peralta, STEM Student