Work Experience and how employers can get involved

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1 Work Experience and how employers can get involved

2 2 3 Business and education must work together. A key way for businesses to do this, whatever their size, is through offering and supporting work experience. It can really help young people be better equipped for the world of work, while for employers it gives them a chance to help schools and learners gain an insight into the skills, values and attitude required in the workplace by business. July 2008 What David Frost, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, has to say about work experience What is work experience? Work experience is an essential activity for young people between the ages of Work experience is a placement with an employer in which a young person carries out a task or a range of tasks and duties in much the same way as an employee, with the emphasis on learning from the experience. Work experience gives young people the chance to learn about skills and personal qualities, as well as roles and structures in the workplace. Almost all young people participate in work experience, representing over half a million placements every year. The Diploma is a new qualification for year olds, which helps them in an innovative and exciting way for the future. Part of this new qualification means that all young people following a Diploma will undertake at least 10 day s work experience and often they will do more. This does not need to be 10 days in one block or with the same employer. What do young people get out of work experience? It helps them to develop their employability skills, relates their learning to work, and helps them on their journey into work in later life. Placements can be organised as either a block of one or two weeks or longer, as short placements or combinations of the two. You can decide how much you can offer and in what pattern to fit in with your own workplace.

3 4 5 What are the benefits for employers? Employers and schools/colleges may seem worlds apart, but they have lots to offer each other. Employers, whether in the private, public or third sector, multinationals or small and medium sized enterprises (SME s), have a wealth of skills and knowledge to offer. It is important that young people can tap into this and benefit from it. However, it is not just young people who benefit, employers do to. What employers have already told us: It gives employers a chance to encourage future employees and improve the quality of young people entering work. It feels exciting to have young people with fresh ideas asking questions about what they do and why. It raises the profile of many career opportunities whilst breaking down stereotypical views about their sector, for example that certain careers are only for men or women. Work experience helps employers to: Reduce the costs of future recruitment needs Contribute to the supply of skills to your sector or area Raise your profile in the local community and wider area Reinforce good health and safety practices Keep in touch with your customers Stay ahead of your competitors Be aware of what is happening in the education system Think about your own development and training needs Motivate your employees The truth behind some of the work experience myths Work experience is no good Yes, it is! The evidence is overwhelmingly positive. Reports from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (QCDA) and a study of 15,000 young people carried out by the National Educational Business Partnership Network are consistent in saying that young people get real benefits. It helps them to understand what skills they ll need to get on in the working world and to develop the can do positive attitude that employers are looking for. There is no one to help or advise employers about work experience Yes, there is. Work experience is most effective when young people, parents, schools/colleges, partners and employers work together to make it happen. Work experience differs in many ways depending on local arrangements and needs. Employers who are interested in offering placements can contact their local school/ college or speak to an Education Business Partnership Organisation (EBPO) who will be able to start the process. For the Diploma, employers have come together as part of a consortia with support from organisations such as the EBPO who can advise on the work experience element of the Diploma. It s too time-consuming for employers to be able to offer work experience It doesn t have to be. You can decide what opportunities to offer with the resources you have you and then make a commitment.

4 6 7 It s important to remember that all employers can get involved in one way or another. Young people must complete a two week block work experience placement, or none at all This is not true, even though many young people choose to do so. Schools/colleges, young people and employers all have the flexibility to agree how long and to what pattern a young person engages in work experience. Most employers are different and it is important that everyone agrees what s best for everyone. Under 16s cannot do work experience in industry or in some sectors Again, this is not true, but any specific or additional health and safety checks need to be undertaken and most employers do this without any trouble. There are many examples of young people participating in construction and other sectors. Employers and staff must be Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checked No, this isn t the case. CRB checks are only needed in certain situations and currently less than 1% of placements need them. Checks may be needed if the young person has special needs or if there is a residential element of the placement. More information can be found later in this booklet or by visiting Young people with special needs cannot take part in work experience No, this is not true. Lots of young people with special needs take part in work experience. Talk to the school/college about this if you are thinking about, or have been asked to offer a placement to a young person with special needs. There are not enough employers providing work experience This is not true at all, but we would like even more employers to be able to offer an even greater range of opportunities. Over 300,000 employers are already involved in providing work experience placements, which means that there are over half a million work experience placements already taking place each year. The Diploma is now available in a range of subjects and will increase over the next three years (to 17 in total by 2011). This means we need even more employers to help us deliver this.

5 8 9 More about the Diploma Employer Champions Network: The Diploma is a qualification designed for employers and universities by employers and there are many employers actively promoting the value of the Diploma to the business community. This includes the Diploma Employer Champions Network (DECN) which is made up of national employers, public sector representatives and small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs). DECN has been set up to encourage and support further long-term employer involvement in the Diploma. The Network is led by Sir Alan Jones of Toyota and a wide range of employers across the English regions are also actively involved. This includes, companies such as Vodafone, BT, Nsure, Hyatt Regency, CB&I, ITV, Compass Group and Rolls Royce. The Champions are passionate supporters of the Diploma. They undertake promotional activities, for example through the media or by speaking at conferences. They also help to channel your views of employers to government. At both national and regional levels, the employer champions work with a variety of other networks to support high quality links between employers and education. If you are an employer and are interested in getting involved please contact Jo Kelly: JKelly@semta.org.uk To find out which employers have already joined, please visit: What the Education Business Partnership Organisation (EBPO) can do for you: They can help you to get involved in work experience in places and ways that are right for you; They establish and maintain partnerships between key partners employers, schools/ colleges, Diploma consortia; They match the needs, interests, aspirations and opportunities available and maintain databases of employers and work experience learning opportunities; They carry out health and safety checks and ensure that other legal requirements are met, including insurance; Offer mock employer interviews, including interview preparation and interview feedback sessions; Help to organise curriculumlinked industry visits; Help with projects that introduce young people (including those of primary school age) to business practices through developing new skills whilst having fun; They can help to monitor and evaluate work experience to identify the impact they have; They offer support and help with child protection issues and CRB advice and checks. How to find an EBPO The National Education Business Partnership Organisation (NEBPN) is the umbrella organisation and national voice for 126 Education Business Partnerships working in 11 regions across the country. It is a membership organisation with a growing number of Associate and Business Members. To find an EBPO in your area, please visit: experience.htm

6 10 11 Safeguarding young people on work-related learning including work experience Criminal Records Bureau checks What is the role of the Criminal Records Bureau? The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) provides access to criminal record information through its Disclosure Service. This service enables organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors to make safer recruitment decisions by identifying candidates who may be unsuitable for certain work, especially that which involves children or vulnerable adults. Do you or your people need to have been CRB checked if you offer work experience to young people? In the vast majority of placements if the employer / employees involved will not have regular unsupervised access to young people at work there is no need for CRB checks to take place. Around 550,000 work experience placements take place each year and we estimate that CRB checks take place for just 1% of these. However, CRB checks must be considered in all of the following cases: 1) students identified by the school as vulnerable for educational, medical, behavioural or home circumstance reasons; 2) students on placements lasting more than 15 days over an extended time-frame, especially where these involve regular lone working with an employer over long periods (rule of thumb would suggest anything over half a day at a time); placements located in particularly isolated environments; placements involving a high degree of travelling; 3) placements which include a residential element. However, the fact that a particular placement falls into one of the above categories does not necessarily mean that a CRB check will be required. Such a decision will depend on an assessment of the overall potential risks posed to a young person and will take into account any systems in place to minimise these risks. Where a CRB check is required, does each member of an employer s staff involved in the work experience have to have a CRB check? There is no requirement to CRB check all staff who may come into contact with a student on placement. The only person who should ever be considered as requiring a CRB check is the person with day-to-day responsibility for the student this could be the manager, a supervisor or a mentoring employee. Who will advise an employer whether or not a check is required? Most schools now use Education Business Partnership Organisations (EBPOs) or other specialist third party organisations to arrange placements with employers. EBPOs and school work experience organisers are able to advise on individual placements and help risk assess the situation in order to determine whether or not a CRB check is required on behalf of the student.

7 12 13 How much does a check cost and who will pay for it? Where a check is required and a cost is involved, this may be met either by the employer or by the school. The CRB website states that the current cost of a standard check is (2008/09). In cases where someone is already employed by a company and has a contractual responsibility for training young people, then this cost would be the responsibility of the company concerned. In all cases where no such contractual responsibility exists, it is possible to have the CRB check carried out for free on the basis that the staff member concerned is acting in an essentially voluntary capacity and is therefore carrying out what might be described as a volunteer mentoring role. Advice on this, and on the processes involved, should be sought from the EBPO or an equivalent specialist organisation. Vetting and Barring Scheme Membership What is the aim of the Vetting and Barring Scheme? The main aim of the Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS) is to prevent people who pose a known risk of harm from working with children and vulnerable adults. The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) will do this by assessing all relevant information including data held on the Police National Computer, disciplinary action taken by employers, and social services records. Anyone deemed unsuitable will be placed on one of two (ISA) Barred Lists. The ISA will work closely in partnership with the CRB to deliver the new scheme. Who needs to register for membership of the VBS? From October 2009, any individual who is working or volunteering, or seeking to work or volunteer, with children or vulnerable adults on a frequent or intensive basis (known as regulated activity) must apply to join the scheme. If the individual is considered unsuitable by the ISA they are barred from working in regulated activity with children or vulnerable adults. Only applicants who are judged not to pose a known risk to vulnerable people can be ISA-registered. Do you or your people need to register if you offer work experience to young people? No. There will be no mandatory requirement to register with the ISA when you offer work experience placements for young people. However, employers will commit an offence if they knowingly used a person barred for working with children into such a position when offering work experience. We would recommend that employers use a risk-based approach when considering the appropriate safeguards to put into place for those supervising or training young people.

8 14 15 How much will it cost an individual to register? It will cost to register with the ISA as an employee or selfemployed worker. This fee covers the ISA administration costs and the costs of the associated CRB check, with an enhanced CRB disclosure being provided at no additional cost. It is worth noting that an individual will only be asked to pay once and the registration can be used for any subsequent work with children or vulnerable adults the individual may undertake. Is the list updated as new information becomes available? ISA records will be constantly updated as fresh information is gathered. If new data indicates that an individual poses a risk to children or vulnerable adults, they will be put on one of the ISA Barred Lists and their current employer will be informed immediately. What happens when an individual moves employment? Once an individual is ISAregistered, subsequent employers can check their status online free of charge, although some employers will retain a duty to also apply for an Enhanced CRB check as part of the recruitment process. Useful documents The following documents can be ordered and/or downloaded at publications Work-related Learning and the Law, DfES 2006 The Work-related Learning Guide, DCFS 2008 Building on the Best, DCSF 2007 Now speak to your EBPO, school, college or local Diploma Consortia, employer support organisation

9 16 17 Thinking about getting involved? A guide for employers Employers interested in providing a work placement can contact their local Education Business Partnership Organisation (EBPO) or, a school, college or their diploma consortia r local which is delivering the Diploma. A representative will then contact the employer to discuss the process and advise on a work programme/schedule of activities. A risk assessment will also be completed. At this stage, the EBPO representative can approach local schools to identify suitable and interested young people. Employers can hold interviews or organise another selection. The date of the work placement is agreed by employer, young person, school/college and parent/guardian. The young person then begins their placement and a representative from the school/college should call or visit during the placement. At the end of the placement the young person will have completed a record of their placement and the employer will provide. A review of the placement will be carried out to see how it went. This will assess what the young person has learned through feedback from them and others who have provided support. Useful weblinks Child Protection ISA Employability Safe Learner The Right Start employers website Work Related Learning Guidance learningguide.pdf workrelatedlearning/ Work Related Learning Quality Standards for%20work%20experience.pdf

10 18 19 Criminal Records Bureau The Diploma Employer Champions Network EBPO Network Work Experience DVD Learning & Skills Council

11 This leaflet is only a general guide and is not a full statement of the law. We have made every effort to make sure that the information in this leaflet is correct at the date shown below. PPSTER/D2(4937.1)06/08/4952 Crown Copyright 2008 Published by the Department of Children, Schools and Families Extracts from this document may be reproduced for noncommercial research, education or training purposes on the condition that the source is acknowledged. For any other use please contact HMSOlicensing@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk A copy of this booklet and DVD can be found by logging onto This booklet is printed on 75% recycled paper When you have finished with this booklet please recycle it