Student Guide to Work Experience

What is a work experience placement?

A placement with an employer in which a young person carries out a range of tasks in much the same way as an employee, with the emphasis on learning from the experience. Work experience provides opportunities for learning about the skills, behaviours, careers, roles and structures that exist within a workplace.

How to find a work experience placement?

Depending upon the school or college that you attend, you may have the opportunity to undertake a placement. Work experience can only take place from year 10 onwards. Your school or college will have a work experience coordinator who you can talk to about the different options to find a placement.

You can also use the Finding Your Own Placement Guide to help.

Before your work experience placement

It is recommended that you arrange a pre-placement meeting before the placement starts. This will allow you to have a ‘practice run’ for the travel element, to see the business premises and meet with your contact so it is not so daunting on the first day. It will also provide a valuable opportunity to ask questions such as;

What time should you arrive and what time will you finish
Where to report to on the first day and to whom
What are break/lunch arrangements – is there somewhere to buy lunch or should you bring a packed lunch?
What is the dress code and do you need to provide any PPE (Personal protective equipment e.g. protective footwear)
Do you need to bring anything extra with you?

It is a good idea to keep a diary of your experiences while on placement and any feedback from your employer as you may be able to use this at college or job interviews. The employer may also be willing to provide you with a reference when you are applying for jobs, so make sure you give a good impression!

Travel

It is your responsibility to get to and from the placement. You should;

Be aware of how you will be getting to the placement
Ensure you know and understand any timetables for public transport and the costs
Consider any potential problems with travel i.e. roadworks, public transport strikes
Have a back-up plan to your method of travel in case of an unexpected scenario i.e bicycle has a flat tyre

Health and Safety

You need to take responsibility for your own Health and Safety and those around you. At the start of the work experience placement, you should receive an induction which as a minimum should include;

Tour of the working area/premises
Fire procedures and First aid arrangements
Overview of expected tasks during the week
Prohibited tasks and/or areas
Requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE).
Introduction to colleagues
Confirmation of working hours and breaks
Shown welfare facilities

Employer expectations

Prior to the placement, it is a good idea for you to research your employer to gain a basic knowledge of the company in order to understand the possible expectations that the employer will have. Employer expectations will also be discussed at the pre-placement meeting.

However, you should be aware of the expectations that all employers will have;

Positive attitude
Show interest
Polite and friendly
Ability to follow instructions/listening skills
Hard working
Punctual and reliable
Appearance and hygiene – appropriately dressed.

Your expectations

You may a different expectation of what a placement will be like compared to reality. Therefore you should have realistic expectations for your placement.

Age, lack of experience, lack of training, knowledge, skills and health and safety restrictions will limit some of the tasks that you can do.
Time will be spent observing colleagues especially in environments that are high risk such as building/construction, garages and engineering.
Routine tasks such as cleaning, tidying, filing etc will be done.
A full working day will be undertaken in the majority of placements not ‘school hours’

Verbal and non-verbal communication

You should ask questions to show interest and be aware of negative and positive body language.

Examples of positive body language are:

Making eye contact
Sitting up straight
Paying attention
Relaxed posture
Keeping hands out of pockets

Examples of negative body language are:

Staring
Slouching
Yawning
Crossed arms and legs
Looking at your watch

Mobile phones/social media

Use of mobile phones will not be allowed during the placement ‘working hours’. You may be asked to place phones in bags or lockers or as a minimum phones should be turned off or placed on ‘silent’. Mobile phones are not permitted in childcare/school placements due to safeguarding procedures. Inappropriate content and use of social media whilst on placements may result in placements being terminated.

Pay

You will not be paid whilst on work experience, as it is an educational experience not employment.

Working hours

Placements will take place between a Monday – Friday during term time. The maximum number of hours you can work will be 8 hours which would include a 1 hour break. You will be informed of the exact times of the placement by your employer.

Absences

If you are going to be late for your placement then you should:

Contact the employer.
Apologise to say that you will be late and explain the reason.
Provide an expected arrival time.

If you are unable to attend the placement due to illness:

Contact the employer.
Explain reason for absence.
Provide an expected return date.
You should also follow correct protocol for informing school of illness

Placement reflection

Work experience should be treated as a ‘learning experience’ and not just a week out of school. Therefore you need to reflect upon your placement to consolidate what you learnt and apply to your future career planning and goal setting. You should ask yourself;

Did you enjoy the placement and was it beneficial?
What new skills did you learn and develop?
Do you now have an idea of what employers require from their employees?
Has it given you a better idea of what career path you want to take?

If you didn’t enjoy the experience this is also a positive thing! Now you can investigate other career paths which may interest you.

Above all, use the experience to help you make informed choices about your future.