Scope
Having a clear scope will help you to plan and manage your workplace experiences effectively.
Find out why you should offer experiences of your workplace, how it raises your company profile and access guidance for working with schools and colleges.
Why offer experiences of the workplace?
You only have to look at the statistics to realise that experiences of the workplace are crucial for your future workforce. When deciding whether to commit to providing young people with work experience you should consider all the benefits they not only bring to the student, but also to your business.
- Employee engagement and development: employees can build on their supervisory and leadership skills whilst sharing their knowledge and expertise with young people.
- Insights into your business: understand how young people view your business.
- Access to skills: tap into the minds of digital natives.
- Build business-relevant skills in young people to support your recruitment strategy and develop your future workforce.
- Give back to your community and build relationships with schools and colleges.
- Raise a positive profile and bust myths about your business and industry.
- Embrace online delivery to enable more young people to gain valuable insights into careers and industry opportunities.
29% of employers say that having work experience is critical when recruiting young people, and a further 45% say it is significant
– UK Commission for Employment & Skills
Resources
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Virtual work experience brochure
Shared by Fortem
Find out why engaging and supporting work experience opportunities is a clear priority of Fortem and why it should be for you too! -
Facilitator requirements
Shared by Morgan Sindall
This brief provides an overview of what is expected of employers and employees during the work experience programme. -
Future Building: A Guide to Successful Work Experience
Shared by Build UK and Class of Your Own
Find out how a successful work experience provides benefits to both young people and employers -
The Beginner’s Guide to Virtual Work Experience for Employers
Shared by Springpod
Students have expressed the barriers that traditional work experience causes. Find out why transitioning to virtual work experience can be beneficial. -
The Value of Volunteering
Shared by Education & Employers
As companies struggle to motivate teams working remotely, new research reveals that employers who support their staff to volunteer in schools and colleges have found employees to be more motivated, more productive and have a better sense of well-being.
Working with schools and colleges
Schools and colleges are working to help young people think about their future careers.
The Gatsby Benchmarks are a framework which make up the elements of an excellent careers programme. Gaining experiences of the workplace (Gatsby Benchmark 6) is one of the keys to success. By the age of 16, every pupil should have had at least one experience of the workplace.
Schools and colleges need your help to create these opportunities. Employers have a huge role to play in helping schools and colleges to meet Gatsby Benchmarks 2, 4, 5 and 6:
2: Learning from career and labour market information
4: Linking the curriculum to careers
5: Encounters with employers and employees
6: Experiences of the workplace
It’s important for employers to connect with local schools and colleges in order to offer experiences of the workplace. Providing activities and recordings encourages a two-way interaction between students and employers/employees. We pulled together lots of useful resources below to help with this.
When designing your programme it’s really important to consider the needs of the school or college. Meeting their needs and objectives will lead to a fuller experience for young people.
– Nicola Hall, Director of Education The CEC
Resources
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Careers in Context: A can-do guide for employers
The Careers & Enterprise Company
This guide sets out examples from those who have already achieved impact and aims to give you confidence and inspiration as you plan your own activities. -
Redefine experiences of the workplace #MakeItWork
The Careers & Enterprise Company
Download this resource for insight on how to meet Gatsby Benchmark 6 more meaningfully and deliver positive student outcomes. -
What is virtual experience of the workplace
Shared by the Mayor of London’s Office
Find out why schools need your support to help achieve Gatsby Benchmark 6. -
How can you support the Gatsby Benchmarks?
Shared by Wessex Water
Use this resource for ideas on how you can support school planning and development around effective and relevant careers advice and guidance -
Make it meaningful checklist
By The Careers & Enterprise Company
This checklist has been designed for Career Leaders in schools. Seeing what their objectives are can help you frame yours. -
A guide to making encounters meaningful
By The Careers & Enterprise Company
Download our useful guide for support when designing and delivering careers related encounters with young people. -
Careers Leader and student perspectives
Adam Allison, Associate Assistant Vice Principal, Unity City Academy, Middlesborough
Adam offers practical tips from the school perspective on planning a virtual work experience programme.
What can you offer?
During the scoping stages, you should consider the various ways that you can carry out experiences of the workplace.
There are a number of other opportunities in addition to a work experience placement. They include:
- Work shadowing
- Work / site visits
- Insight days
- Mentoring
- Project-based learning
- Social action and volunteering
Whichever method you opt for, it’s important to ensure it is a meaningful and rich experience.
There are many ways to deliver an experience of the workplace for young people, in addition to a work experience placement. See here for inspiration on other ways you can provide a workplace experience.
Resources
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How to approach virtual work experience
Shared by Movement to Work & Accenture
This guide provides support for approaching, planning and evaluating virtual work experience. -
Work experience flyer example
Shared by Wessex Water
This can be used as an example when advertising experiences of the workplace. Keep the colours bright to engage with young people! -
Work experience toolkit
Shared by The IMI
Guidance and support for planning your work experience programme. Shared by The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) -
Babcock International Work Experience
Shared by Babcock
A virtual work experience offering that provides the same opportunities as their traditional experience of their workplace. -
Creating different models of experiences of the workplace
Tom Thayer, Education Lead, Hinkley Point C
Hear about experiences of the workplace being delivered at nuclear power station, Hinkley Point C. -
Programmes for smaller employers
Celine Elliott, Engagement Lead, Cornwall Museums Partnership
Listen to the Cornwall Museums Partnership’s process of creating their first ever work experience programme with an agenda to work towards improving the diversification of their workforce. -
Virtual Work Experience programme
Shared by BAE Systems
Download the full overview of BAE Systems’ virtual work experience programme featuring STEM project choices and their 3-day timetable. -
A Virtual Insight Day at the Somerset NHS Trust
Shared by Heart of the Southwest Careers Hub
Find out how a Virtual Insight Day can inspire young people to think about careers they may have not considered before. -
Virtual insight day case study
Shared by Greater Manchester Apprenticeship & Careers Service
Law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer shares their experience partnering with a Rochdale school to demystify the workplace for young people and inspire them about the opportunities in Law.
Virtual Work Experience resources
Mayor of London | London Assembly
Explore the Mayor of London’s full range of downloadable resources made available to inspire the delivery of the experience of your workplace, including the construction and digital/technology sectors.