Work experience is an excellent opportunity for students to gain an understanding of the skills and qualities required by employers and can help students with making informed decisions on their next steps when they leave the Academy.
The aim of work experience is to provide students with an ‘experience of work’ rather than specific job training, where they can gain valuable skills and knowledge of the workplace. Students will experience first-hand the ‘world or work’ which can help with their ‘exploration of career opportunities and expand their networks’ (Gatsby Benchmark 6).
All students in Year 10 have the opportunity to undertake a one week, unpaid, work experience placement; for the 2023-24 academice year, this is currently scheduled for week commencing 1 July 2024.
Students will be offered support to look for a placement however we would encourage student to arrange their own placement by contacting employers directly as this will help with the development of valuable job-hunting skills. Parents and carers are also asked to help support and encourage their young person to secure a work experience placement.
Information will be provided to students in the Spring Term so that they can start looking for a placement.
To ensure that we have permission from all parties involved in the work experience programme and we are compliant with safeguarding and health and safety regulations we use the Unifrog careers platform, to support this process.
Once a student has found a placement they will need complete the ‘student initial form’ on Unifrog, here. An email will then be sent to the employer, parent/carer and to the Career Adviser at the Academy to check we have all the correct information to approve the placement.