For Work Experience Placement Providers

  • Use ‘self-arranged placements’ with caution. This well-established practice might do little to encourage new entrants into the organisation.
  • If the organisation has links to schools and wishes to promote placements and/or apprenticeships through group sessions, a mix of at least 50:50 gender split should be encouraged in the group make-up and in the people delivering the session. Schools/colleges should be encouraged to send mixed groups to reflect the cohort (including learners from black and minority ethnic groups and those with additional learning needs).
  • Ensure learners are aware of the purpose of the placement and have adequate material to get the most from the experience (e.g. appropriate workbook and signposting to relevant websites).
  • Establish a structured programme for the placement aimed at giving the learner as wide an experience as possible and with exposure to roles they would not normally be familiar with.
  • Brief all staff who will come into contact with the learner so that they know what the purpose of the placement is and why the organisation is targeting particular groups such as females (or people from BME groups, individuals with disabilities, etc.).
  • Link learners to positive role models from similar backgrounds to themselves where possible. If that is not possible an enthusiastic person of a similar background from an outside organisation might be a suitable alternative.
  • Ask the learner to give feedback about the placement in their own words. A presentation is one alternative, but other activities such as getting them to design a poster saying why other learners would enjoy a placement with the organisation or writing an article on the placement for the company newsletter could be equally enlightening.
  • Use the feedback from the learners, placement supervisors, role models, teachers and education business partnership staff to evaluate, review and develop the work experience programme.