Open Doors

What is Open Doors?

Open Doors is a project started by the East Sussex Careers Hub in 2016. It provides young people in East Sussex with meaningful experiences of the workplace. The project runs each academic year, between September and July.

Local employers open the doors to their workplace to small groups of students, giving them the opportunity to explore the site, meet and hear from employees, and learn about the job roles and career pathways within the industry.

Open Doors visits have helped young people to decide their career pathway, introduced them to local employers, and inspired them to work harder in school. It has even led to businesses which have hosted visits offering work experience placements and volunteering opportunities to individuals.

Open Doors visits can help schools to meet Gatsby Benchmark 5 and 6 and Provider Access Legalisation requirements. They are also a fantastic training opportunity for teaching staff to learn how local industry sectors link to the curriculum, helping them to connect what students are learning in school to future careers.

How can I book an Open Doors visit?

Teachers and Careers Leaders can find out about the Open Doors visits currently on offer and how to book visits using the digital brochure here. Each visit is linked to a related subject to help teachers connect the visit to the curriculum.

Teachers and Careers Leaders will need to login to eProspectus and go to the 'Employer Opportunities' section to request an Open Doors visit for their students. Instructions on how to request an Open Doors visit on eProspectus can be downloaded here. 

The Careers Hub provides small handbooks for students to take with them on visits to help them evaluate what they've learned. Schools can download a printable copy of the handbook here to use for other workplace experiences.

How can I offer Open Doors visits?

Local employers can find out more about how Open Doors visits work using this guide. If your company would be interested in offering Open Doors visits or has any questions, please contact the Careers Hub at OpenDoors@eastsussex.gov.uk or complete the sign-up form here.

Open Doors aligns with the ‘Introduce and Inspire’ part of the Equalex framework.

Open Doors meets the following criteria:
Involve extensive two-way interactions between the young person and employees
Include opportunities for young people to perform a task set by the employer or to produce a piece of work relevant to that workplace (the task set can be undertaken either at school or on the visit)
Include opportunities for young people to meet a range of different people from the workplace
Include the employer providing feedback to the young person about their work
Have a clear purpose, which is shared with the employer