Work Experience and Volunteering
Why Work Experience?
Employers and educational institutions all have their own entry requirements and application processes but the feedback we have received from all of them, tells us they value work experience immensely.
Outstanding academic grades are obviously imperative, however, in a competitive labour market, employers and education providers are also looking to find someone who has experience of working in an adult environment and can evidence skills and qualities that they have developed from this experience.
Work experience is confidence building and gives you the chance to explore an industry of interest, to discover first hand if it would suit you as an individual and is the right career path for you.
Please find below an example CV and example cover letter along with guidance on how to complete these. As work experience can be difficult to secure in the current climate, please do not forget to use your network of friends and family; employers often like it if the student has links with their firm already. You may also consider asking to ‘work-shadow’ or for a shorter period of time as this may be easier for the employer to honour.
In addition to work experience, you may wish to enhance your employability skills through undertaking a free online course in a subject or interest of via getting involved in volunteering or Social Enterprise locally.
The following websites may be useful:
We actively encourage students to seek valuable and meaningful work-related leaning experiences that will support their future aspirations. Where possible we recommend that this is completed in holidays and weekends, however we appreciate that this is not always possible.
In the current climate of COVID-19, many companies are now offering Virtual Work Experience (VWEx). These placements allow young people to engage in a range of talks, activities and workshops, helping them understand the world of work and to develop key employability skills that can then be added to their CV and applications. Mrs West will send opportunities out via email but we also recommend you register with the two companies below so you are the first to hear about opportunities as they are released! Why not also check out their employer talks as well.
In Sixth Form, students can request time off by speaking to the Sixth Form team to attend work experience placements (these may be on an ad-hoc or weekly basis depending upon the company requirements (timetable dependent).
For other year groups, a letter requesting permission for time away from timetabled lessons, to attend a placement, needs to be sent to the Headteacher, stating reasons why this will be beneficial. Once permission has been given, students can then proceed with finalising the arrangements.
The Careers Adviser is available to help you get the most of out of your work experience and also has a number of contacts within different industries so you may wish to enquire about these, however, ultimately it is the responsibility of the student to find their own work experience.
Seeking your own placement is excellent preparation for your future and will teach you first-hand how competitive the real-world can be. You will learn to approach companies in a professional manner and if not successful on your first contact, it will teach you resilience; how to deal with rejection and to still persist in your pursuit to find a placement.
- Go to Yell.com to search for local businesses to contact
- Visit our Post 18 - Employment and Training page