What good looks like
Every student should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and expand their networks.
- By the age of 16, every pupil should have had at least one experience of a workplace, additional to any part-time jobs they may have.
- By the age of 18, or before the end of their study programme, every student should have had at least one experience of a workplace, additional to any part-time jobs they may have
Why this matters
- Experiences of the workplace can create social capital for young people with more limited networks
- Experiences of the workplace give students the opportunity to develop essential skills
- 8.2 per cent of people aged 16-64 in the UK today (3.4 million people in total) have never had a paid job (besides casual and holiday work). Never ever report 2020, Resolution Foundation
“People who are literate and numerate have greater chances of success in employment and in life, but what we are increasingly understanding is that essential skills are also critical to these life chances.”
(Sir John Holman)
Careers Leaders:
Getting started with BM6
- Be clear about priority careers knowledge, understanding and application based on student needs and school priorities. Use this to shape and communicate planned intent for all experiences of the workplace.
- Gatsby Benchmark 6 describes experiences of workplaces as: “work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience”. It is important to approach this Benchmark with the understanding that work experience is not synonymous with experiences of the workplace. Remember that there is no blue print for age/key stage and format for experiences of the workplace. They should be planned for impact and implemented around what students need to know, understand and be able to do linked to a high level aim for the experience.
- Use the BM6 Careers Leader Guide to set learning aims and outcomes for experiences of work and reflect on most appropriate implementation type and time for your students based on their needs and aligned to school priorities.
- For further resources check out this page Reimagining Experiences of the Workplace.
Training
All Careers Leaders require Outstanding training
For further support with Benchmark 1 register for our fully funded Careers Leader training
Download our Training Catalogue which includes all the information you need and a helpful comparison guide on the 11 high-quality Training Providers we work with. Here you will be able to choose the right course to suit you and your development, so that you can embed a successful careers programme in your school/college.
Once you have chosen the right course and Training Provider for you, you are all set to register!
Careers in Context: Can Do Approaches
Experiences of workplaces allow students to have first-hand experiences of the workplace through online or face to face work visits, work shadowing and/or work experience to help their exploration of career opportunities, and to expand networks. Experiences of the workplace could and should reflect the fastchanging nature of work, including remote working. The Gatsby Benchmarks hold the same level of relevance in an online world and continue to work as a framework for quality careers guidance. All experiences of workplaces should sit within a progressive careers programme that have clear learning outcomes and that supports positive student outcomes.
To include an activity under Benchmark 6, it must meet the following minimum requirements:
- Learning outcomes are defined, based on the age and needs of students
- Student meets a range of people from the workplace
- There is extensive two-way interaction between the student and employees
- Student must perform a task or produce a piece of work relevant to that workplace and receive feedback on it from the employer.
Opportunity:
- The current context allows us to re-evaluate and take a fresh look at the aims and value of experiences of work.
- Consider school/college priorities and key learning outcomes to shape the aims, content and format of any experiences of work.
- Schools, special schools and colleges were already exploring innovative alternatives to the traditional model of 1- or 2-week placements, including blended approaches.
- Experiences and encounters can also teach young people about digital skills, teamwork and communication in an online environment which has increasing relevance for workplaces.
How:
1. Identify relevant learning outcomes and aims for any experience of work and consider opportunities for implementation to deliver in those learning outcomes.
2. Consider how learning at school/home can be blended with structured experiences of work (online or face to face) to ensure that students access meaningful experiences of the workplace.
3. Whether face-to-face or online, work with employer partners to incorporate skills development that is up-to-date and relevant to the fast-changing world of work.
4. Consider developing workplace skills such as joining online meetings, independent working (e.g. research) and online professional etiquette to meet the changing requirements of the workplace.
Education Leaders and Governors:
Education Leaders and Governors: For further information on each Benchmark, to support you in your role, please see the Education Leader, Secondary and College Governor Guides.
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Resource 2: The benefits and challenges
This is the second resource in our Supporting Employers: Working with Young People with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) collection.
This resource talks about the business benefits of working with young people with SEND and looks at the barriers and misconceptions that can be in place and how these can be overcome.
Resource 4: Tips for effective communication
This is the fourth resource in our Supporting Employers: Working with Young People with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) collection.
This resource contains tips on how to ensure effective communication when working with Schools, Special Schools and Colleges. It also looks at some questions you might want to ask to enable you to build an effective relationship.
Resource 5: Gaining Support from different stakeholders
This is the fifth resource in our Supporting Employers: Working with Young People with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) collection.
In this resource you can gain some understanding about how to gain support from stakeholders including colleagues and Senior Leaders in schools.
Resource 6: Guidance on choosing and planning an activity
This is the sixth resource in our Supporting Employers: Working with Young People with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) collection.
This resource takes you through some tips on choosing and planning activity when working with young people with SEND. It also contains useful checklists for when you choose your activity to support its implementation.
Resource 7: Gathering feedback and learnings from activities
This is the final resource in our Supporting Employers: Working with Young People with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) collection.
This resource looks at how you can reflect on the activities and ensures you are able to gather feedback that can inform future provision.
Shrewsbury Academy My Week of Work programme
An example of how My Week of Work could be adapted and used in your school or college, Shrewsbury Academy structured the programme as compulsory modules, which tutor groups can watch together and engage in follow up discussions, and optional modules which enables learners to choose the sectors and employers they are interested in.
Springpod
Students can explore hundreds of careers with up to date labour market information. Free and inspiring careers talks and the opportunity to interact and engage with the top employers in the UK.
The Skills to Succeed Academy
These free resources have been developed by Accenture (national).
Resources are relevant, realistic training preparing learners for the entire journey of choosing the right career, finding a job and being successful in the workplace:
- Features innovative simulations providing a safe environment for learners to practice for real life situations e.g., a job interview, first day in a new job.
- Choose from 108 bite-sized, interactive and highly effective online learning modules and 26 downloadable activity packs to consolidate learning.
Tips to create an online work experience programme
Top Tips from AET on creating an online work experience programme.
Transition Guide from Primary to Secondary: enhancing careers education and supporting parental engagement
This resource is designed to support Careers Leaders and other staff involved in the transition process from Key Stage 2 into Key Stage 3, exploring opportunities to embed careers activities and parental engagement across the full range of transition opportunities.
It takes you through the three phases:
- Decision making (Y4,5,6) while children and parents /carers are still considering their options
- Decision made (Y6) once the children have been allocated their secondary school
- Started (Y7) once the children have started their secondary school.
Work Experience Resources for SEND School
The West of England Careers Hub recently commissioned staff from Three Ways School to work with seven SEND schools to support and train the careers leaders in developing a local network of employers for work experience. As part of this, a range of editable resources were produced.
Work Experience Toolkit by Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC)
The Toolkit is for secondary schools, Academies and other education establishments - a guide for Head Teachers, Careers Leads and operations staff. It covers setting up and effectively managing and supervising placements or work experiences and has a number of standalone useful checklists and forms.