INSPIRE YOUR FUTURE WORKFORCE Work Experience Placements A Guide for Employers 01204 482036 1
WORK EXPERIENCE PLACEMENTS A Guide for Employers INSPIRE YOUR FUTURE WORKFORCE Thank you for providing our students with the opportunity to experience the world of work. We hope that the information and practical advice contained within this guide will make the process easier for you to deliver. Aspects covered include: How to carry out a work experience student induction What tasks a work experience student might carry out for your organisation How to review student progress How to conclude the work experience placement Work experience works. It works for young people who get the opportunity to participate in the world of work and appreciate how to become productive members of the workforce. It works for employers who see work experience as providing a valuable talent pipeline into their business. It works for the wider economy and society as it brings more people into work and out of long-term unemployment. 2 www.boltoncollege.ac.uk
HOW WORK EXPERIENCE WORKS FOR EMPLOYERS In addition to making a real difference to someone s working life, work experience can benefit an organisation in a number of ways: Recruitment opportunities: providing work experience placements can be a way to access the local labour market and explore a pool of talent that you may otherwise not have considered. Staff development: supervising and coaching young people on work experience can develop the capabilities of staff, especially those who do not normally have any line management responsibilities. Engagement in the local community: investors, the media and consumers tend to favour ethical employers who have a positive public image. Work experience placements can enhance your image in the community, by addressing some of the social issues related to youth worklessness. HOW WORK EXPERIENCE BENEFITS YOUNG PEOPLE AND SOCIETY Work experience can enhance the prospects of young people and reduce youth unemployment, by: Breaking the vicious cycle that many young people find themselves in - many young people find they can t get a job because of a lack of experience and can t get experience because they can t find a job. The offer of a structured programme that reflects working life is crucial if young people are to secure employment. Providing constructive feedback and coaching which will help young people develop job-specific and sector-specific skills. Allowing young people to experience different job roles and organisational cultures, to help them make better informed choices about their future. Working alongside experienced staff helps to improve the communication skills of young people and encourage professional behaviour. Giving young people the opportunity to undertake job interviews and completing application processes, to improve their recruitment skills. Providing a positive experience of the world of work in order to build the young person s confidence and motivation. Helping young people to strengthen their CVs and develop a network of useful contacts. Our work experience students are doing great and I am really pleased with their work, I am pleased that we gave them the opportunity as they are very keen and willing! Over Christmas our internet connection was down and so one asked if she could take the work home! I am pleased to report that even now we are seeing the benefit of their efforts which is great. Jason Mawdsley, The Academy Group. 01204 482036 3
WORK EXPERIENCE PLACEMENTS How to Provide Valuable Work Experience IS IT NECESSARY TO GIVE YOUNG PEOPLE ON WORK EXPERIENCE A FULL INTRODUCTION TO THE ORGANISATION? For most young people, coming to work for you on a placement may be a very new experience. At the start of the placement it is good practice and beneficial to an individual s development for them to receive an introduction to your company and the workplace. This settling in phase helps the young person to feel valued. WHAT SHOULD THE INTRODUCTION TO THE ORGANISATION CONTAIN? Providing an induction offers an opportunity to get to know the young person. It s a chance to discuss previous relevant experience, establish the young person s goals, talk about each others expectations, and allow the young person to ask questions. It should include: Presenting an introduction to your organisation (covering things like its history, products and services, culture and values, and company structure) in addition to the names of staff that a person on work experience may need to contact. A tour of your facilities - including work areas, where they can get food and refreshments from (within the building or locally), the location of toilets, first aid facilities and fire exits, and evacuation procedures in case of a fire. (Providing health and safety information is also a legal requirement). An overview of the role, covering what the young person is expected to do and the day-to-day duties that they will be responsible for (including any projects to be worked on). Allocating a buddy to the young person can also be a useful means of support, enabling them to be able to ask questions in a more informal setting. This role should be carried out by someone who is keen to do it and who has a friendly and supportive nature. A young person entering the world of work for the first time may find the workplace intimidating, as they might not know how the workplace functions or appreciate how they should behave. Overall, try not to overburden the individual on their first morning and give them plenty of time to digest any information or forms that you hand over. Depending on the nature of your organisation, you may also need to: Inform reception or colleagues of the work experience participant s arrival on their first morning. Set up computer login details for them to use and provide any documentation that they need to read before they can begin work. Finally, don t make assumptions and be as clear as possible about what is expected in terms of working hours, dress codes, etc. 4 www.boltoncollege.ac.uk
WHAT TASKS SHOULD THEY DO? If work experience is to be mutually beneficial, it is important that the young person is given as much of an insight into the world of work as possible. The emphasis needs to focus on tasks, rather than tea, where they are exposed to professional development opportunities and practise skills that they can demonstrate to potential employers. Good practice is to offer them a mini-project they can work on whilst on placement. This could relate to an area you are particularly keen to get young people s views on, or something they are likely to be interested in doing - but is not business crucial for the employer. Please bear in mind that many of these young people will have had limited exposure to working life and may have areas for skills development. Work experience is about supporting an individual in developing their skills to increase their opportunities in the labour market. Identifying some workshadowing opportunities and offering specific tasks to work on - with practical supervision but which offers scope for them to use their ideas or creativity - are effective ways to give the young person a real flavour of the world of work. HOW SHOULD I DEVISE A SUITABLE WORK PLACEMENT PLAN? Ideally, you should prepare a full plan for the work placement, which can be adapted for each individual work placement. Preparing properly for a work placement is key to its success and smooth running, making it less resource-intensive for employers and easy to manage. An effective way to devise a suitable work plan is to consult colleagues to find out if they have any specific projects they feel an individual could contribute to and if they have some time to supervise and mentor the young person. Bolton College can help you devise a plan, so please do not hesitate to ask us for support. Above all, it is important that the young person has a positive and encouraging experience in the world of work, so it s important to be prepared to be non-judgemental and demonstrate patience and understanding ultimately, you are helping a young person take a significant step towards employment. HOW CLOSELY DO WORK EXPERIENCE INDIVIDUALS NEED TO BE MANAGED? As young people on placements are new to the world of work, the way that they are managed is crucial. Good management and supervision will help the young person to develop more quickly, in terms of building up their confidence and realising that they can play a positive role. Helping young people to strengthen their CVs and develop a network of useful contacts. 01204 482036 5
DO I NEED TO APPOINT A MENTOR OR A COACH? You should ensure that a member of staff is supervising the young person during their placement. This member of staff could also act as their mentor, coach or buddy, and help the young person adjust and respond to the needs of the workplace. A mentor can provide the person on a placement with advice and further objective feedback. Try to select an employee who is naturally helpful, good with people and has the desire to help a young person in their working life. You may want to give them some training for this new role, as this is also a development opportunity for your staff. Alternatively, a buddy (who could be a junior member of the team keen to develop their skills) can offer valuable support to the young person. PASTORAL CARE AND SUPPORT It is important that a young person on a work experience placement is supported in their (often first) experience of the working world. A young person, through naivety or lack of maturity, can fall foul of policies or standards of behaviour in the early days, and it is vital that they have a support network in place to guide them through. They may not know many things you take for granted. Someone, such as a mentor or (possibly in larger organisations) the person responsible for managing the work experience programme, needs to be able to act as an advocate, to step in and have those difficult conversations very early, before any formal procedures are triggered. Without this sort of support a young person on work experience placement can undermine their own success because they lack the skills, knowledge or self-awareness of how to interact with others in the workplace. HOW CAN YOU DEVELOP A RAPPORT WITH THE YOUNG PERSON ON A WORK EXPERIENCE PLACEMENT? The following examples are ways to help you develop a rapport with the young person: Allow them plenty of time to ask questions at the induction and throughout. Build a supportive working relationship with the young person. Meet the young person for lunch on their first day. Act as a point of contact for any concerns that the individual might have. Supervise and coach them during the working day. Provide on-going constructive feedback. Help them with their communication skills. Give advice on working life. Reflect on their progress and have regular conversations about their attitude to work. HOW SHOULD YOU REVIEW THEIR PROGRESS? We suggest having regular conversations with the individual, reflecting on progress and their attitude. It would also be useful to arrange a stock-take midway through the placement to assess the individual s progress and consider any additional development activities (is there anything you could add, any specific task they could focus on?). There may well be areas identified for development during the placement, or issues that arise for a young person who may not have prior experience of the workplace. It is important to discuss and address any issues to maximise the young person s learning from the placement. However, all feedback should be provided sensitively and an opportunity for discussion given, so as to avoid damaging a young person s confidence. 6 www.boltoncollege.ac.uk
WORK EXPERIENCE PLACEMENTS Concluding Your Work Experience WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO CONCLUDE A WORK EXPERIENCE PLACEMENT? As a work experience placement draws to a close, regardless of how long it has lasted, it is good practice to arrange a final review meeting with the young person to discuss a number of issues. During the review, the young person could be asked questions such as: What have you learned and how have you developed during this work experience? How well have you met your objectives? What do you see as your strengths and are there any areas for improvement or development? What have been your biggest/ proudest achievements? What specific projects have you contributed to? In what ways are you better prepared for the jobs market after completing this work experience? Moreover, there are several things that you can relay back to the young person as part of this discussion: How well do you think they have performed (in general and/or on specific projects)? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What areas of development do you suggest that they concentrate on in future jobs? We also recommend asking them what feedback they have for your organisation in terms of how well the work experience was run and how this could be improved in future. HOW CAN YOU ACT AS A REFEREE FOR THE YOUNG PERSON? The provision of a reference forms part of the agreement between the employer and Bolton College and plays an important part in reassuring potential future employers about the employability of the young person. We recognise that the process of reference-giving can vary between employers, with some preferring to confirm only that a person worked with them between specific dates. However, we ask employers to consider the potential importance of providing a more detailed summary of experience to the young person, as this will help them to focus on their own key achievements and promote themselves to potential employers. This might outline what the young person did during their time at the organisation and how they went about performing their tasks. It might also include their attitude to learning, reliability and attendance, as well as their interaction with work colleagues or customers. At the end of the work experience placement, a meeting with the young person should take place to review how everything went - for both the person on work experience as well as the employer. We recommend that you assess the success of the placement and, if appropriate, offer further support to the individual, by agreeing to act as a referee and encouraging the young person to stay in touch. Your work experience student should have a copy of the Work Experience Student Record. Within this you will find a review form to complete with the student at the end of placement. 01204 482036 7
CAN YOU RECRUIT THE YOUNG PERSON AFTER COMPLETION OF THE WORK EXPERIENCE? If you have a vacancy and the work experience placement has been successful, you can offer the young person a job. This can be part-time, full-time or seasonal. If you don t have an immediate vacancy, but would consider them in the future, encourage the young person to stay in touch. But it is important to manage the young person s expectations and to be clear if there are no current opportunities within the organisation, so that they are able to move on and seek opportunities elsewhere. By offering work experience to a young person, an employer is making a significant contribution to their development, even if they cannot offer a further opportunity to them. APPRENTICESHIPS Apprenticeships are a unique way to grow your own workforce. They combine on-the-job training in your organisation with off-the-job learning. The learning takes place in context and provides a real understanding about the working world, combining practical skills with theoretical knowledge. They offer a career route into your organisation and a valuable opportunity to grow the skills you need now and in the future. To find out more about how Apprenticeships can help your business performance or to discover how to set up and run high-quality Apprenticeships, please contact Bolton College Business Enterprise and Development Team, on 01204 482036 INTERNSHIPS Internships can be a useful tool to improve a young person s employability and career choices, as they provide a first experience of working life, deliver workplace-related skills and offer access to important networks. For employers, they are an opportunity to bring new skills into the organisation and to access a wider pool of labour. To find out more, please contact Bolton College s Business Enterprise and Development Team on 01204 482036. 8 www.boltoncollege.ac.uk Allowing young people to experience different job roles and organisational cultures.
BOLTON COLLEGE Work Experience Placement Charter Bolton College aims to make work experience rewarding for employers and meaningful, relevant and inspiring to young people. BOLTON COLLEGE S COMMITMENT Seek to meet the placement needs of individuals, businesses and communities in Bolton. Ensure enquiries are handled efficiently and effectively in a professional and timely manner. Offer a risk-assessed safe and healthy learning environment where everyone feels safe and valued regardless of background. Harness a working relationship whereby employers and employees are confident that their feedback will be listened to and acted upon. Pre-screen and select the most suitable learners. Provide candidate details so employers can choose the most suitable learners. Monitor attendance. Visit the student at least once to monitor their progress. Provide a dedicated member of staff who will support and mentor the student. Provide the learner with work-related activities to complete, which will help the placement to be more meaningful. Provide the employer with example activities that they can complete with the student. Be on hand to offer information, support and guidance for the employer. 01204 482036 9
BOLTON COLLEGE Learner Commitment To get the most out of the work experience placement, young people are expected to: Prepare for the placement and make contact with the organisation before arrival. Be clear about specific learning objectives and agree these in advance with the employer. Prepare a professional CV that informs the employer of your strengths and weaknesses to allow for work to be allocated appropriately. Arrive every day on time. If illness arises then you must let the employer and your College mentor know before 9am of that working day. Contact must also be made if you are going to be arriving late. Adhere to dress codes, working hours and conduct yourself in a professional manner. Carry out the duties agreed by yourself and your manager at the organisation to the best of your ability. Uphold Bolton College s good reputation by presenting yourself in a mature, professional and respectful manner. Not lie or mislead the organisation. Do not divulge or exploit any private or confidential information. Not use the internet or email for private use, unless permission is given by the organisation. Adhere to the organisation s Equality Policy and treat colleagues and customers with dignity and respect, regardless of background. Ask for advice, guidance and support when required and discuss any problems or issues with the appropriate member of staff. Report any safeguarding and equality and diversity issues to a member of college staff you trust. Don t wait until your tutor s visit, report any concerns you have immediately. MAKE THE MOST OF THIS NEW CHALLENGE AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN. 10 www.boltoncollege.ac.uk
BOLTON COLLEGE Employer Commitment To provide a smooth and rewarding work experience placement, we expect employers to: Establish hours of work and the duration of the placement prior to the placement. State the dress code, and also expectations and guidance on professional conduct. Provide full training on any software or equipment to be used, if necessary. Provide the work experience student with a risk-assessed, safe, healthy and inclusive learning environment where all are treated with dignity and respect regardless of background. Ensure the placement is tailored to the young person s needs and circumstances. This includes finding out what the young person wants to get out of the placement, which skills they want to develop, what barriers they face and what their career aspirations are. Ensure there is clarity about the role that the young person plays in your organisation and how they will be supported, supervised and mentored by your employees. Introduce the work experience student to the structure of working life; help them to learn and to develop a range of transferable skills, personal qualities and competencies which will contribute towards their employability. Ensure success is celebrated and the young person has an enjoyable and positive work experience that encourages them to become more confident in their abilities. Encourage the young person to relate their experiences and skills to the workplace and support them in making a more informed decision about their future. Provide them with open, honest and constructive feedback about what went well and what areas need to be improved and, if possible, advice on how to do this. Provide an integrated approach to working with, investing in, recruiting and developing young people, with work experience placements being a part of your commitment to help young people to access, and progress in, your organisation. PROVIDE A STRUCTURED, INFORMATIVE, AND VALUABLE WORK EXPERIENCE PLACEMENT. 01204 482036 11
REGULATIONS REGARDING WORK EXPERIENCE The Facts A possible concern to some employers is that they will be required to undertake lots of regulatory requirements when offering a work experience placement to a young person. As you will see below, this is not the case: SAFEGUARDING AND CRIMINAL RECORDS BUREAU (CRB) CHECKS Employers do not have to carry out a Criminal Records Bureau check on anyone on work experience. The Government are legislating so that from September 2013 employers will not need to carry out a CRB check for staff supervising young people aged 16 or 17 on work experience. However, Bolton College may fund a CRB check if your organisation requires this. INSURANCE Employers Liability Insurance covers all employees, including young people on temporary work placements. Employers won t need to pay additional premiums for providing work experience placements to young people and there are no additional forms to complete. HEALTH AND SAFETY LEGISLATION Young people on work experience are treated the same as employees of the same age, under Health and Safety legislation. If the employer already employs 16 or 17 year olds, they won t need to take any further health and safety related action. Bolton College may still need to carry out Health and Safety compliance checks though, as the safety of our learners is paramount to us. COSTS The Department for Education recently stated that they believe 16-19 year olds would benefit more from work experience than younger students, since they are most likely to value this experience and need help to prepare them for employment or higher education. Therefore, work experience will form an integral part of the 16-19 Study Programmes from September 2013. As a result of this, the Department for Education have invested 4.5 million over eighteen months (February 2012 July 2013) in order for 25 FE colleges to pilot innovative models for delivering work experience to 16-19 year olds. The outcomes of these pilots will be evaluated in order to establish the best way that they can support post-16 providers in enhancing their student s employment prospects. Bolton College is one of the 25 FE Colleges who have received funding to support students with their work experience travel expenses, which generally equates to 10 per day. However, from September 2013 this funding will no longer be available and students will be required to fund their own transport costs. We would like to take this opportunity to ask your organisation to support our students by sponsoring our work experience scheme. If you would like to be involved, please contact our Business Enterprise and Development Team at: Bolton College Business Enterprise and Development Team Deane Road Campus Deane Road Bolton BL3 5BG 01204 482036 www.boltoncollege.ac.uk 12 www.boltoncollege.ac.uk
TASK INSIGHT AND INSPIRATION Behind the Scenes of Your Organisation Would a young person know how many different jobs there are within your company or organisation? Please take the time to complete the following task with your work experience student at the start of their placement. It is more important that young people think as broadly as possible about the opportunities available to them and ensure that whatever experience of work they acquire with you, they can relate this to other similar opportunities in industry. The corporate sector can really help here by presenting information in a way that is meaningful and inspiring for young people. Rather than just listing job titles, which may not mean much to anyone outside of your organisation, we have created a simpler way of presenting jobs. The objective of this is to help young people to recognise the variety of work available and to start to develop their skills to help them achieve what they want do in the future. TASK Book a half an hour slot out of your diary and arrange a one-to-one with your work experience student to discuss their future prospects. Prior to this meeting, take some time to think about the following: The variety of different roles within your organisation What are the knowledge, skills and attributes you seek when recruiting for these positions? What qualifications do you seek? How might someone gain entry into this industry and what advice would you give them? Once you have collated this information, use the one-to-one to discuss this information with your work experience student. AFTER THE ONE-TO-ONE: Instruct the student to spend a short amount of time digesting all the information you have given them. Encourage them to select at least 2-3 job roles that interest them the most. Once the student has come back to you with this list, we would ask you to set up a time when the young person can meet with the different people performing these job roles within your organisation (ideally meeting people at different stages within their careers). This can be one-to-one or as a group. Try to present staff that have both entered your organisation through a planned route that has been based around training and development, and staff that have just been in the right place at the right time. In order to get the most out of this task, the student has been provided with a set of suggested questions to ask your staff and a reflection activity to complete afterwards. 01204 482036 13
BOLTON COLLEGE Other Business Services INTRODUCTION The Business Enterprise & Development team at Bolton College is your ideal training partner. We have a proven track-record for delivering training solutions that are directly responsive to the changing needs of business. Our value-formoney products and services have successfully helped many businesses to develop and strengthen their competitive business advantage. We provide a free and comprehensive training needs analysis that leads to high quality training solutions. We have access to a range of government funding that enables you to maximise the impact of a limited training budget. We also offer a unique, free, recruitment service. Bolton College s dedicated business advisors are happy to discuss how a carefully designed individual training solution can help your organisation realise its full potential. SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE Bolton College is a major provider of training solutions to local, regional and national businesses. We would like to talk to you about your current business needs as we believe that we may have some solutions that are just right for you. All our business clients are assigned an advisor who works to identify any skill gaps in the workforce and then structures a training solution that meets these needs. Our effective training options include both tried-and-tested offthe-shelf courses and bespoke courses developed to address your particular business needs. Bolton College offers practical training courses in a wide range of subject areas. Our staff possess a wealth of experience and our flexible provision is of a high quality. All training is specifically designed to meet business needs and delivered at a time and location to suit you. SERVICES INCLUDE: Fully managed Apprenticeship service Accreditation of employee skills in the workplace Bespoke training Mandatory training - First Aid at work Recognised industry standard qualifications Business diagnostics Access to grants and funding Access to sector networks For more information or to book a place on one of our courses, please contact our Business Enterprise and Development Team on 01204 482036 or email business@boltoncc.ac.uk 14 www.boltoncollege.ac.uk
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