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:
Year 10 and Year 12 Work Experience
Work experience for students in Year 10 runs at the end of May, and for Year 12 at the end of June. Students are encouraged to find their own placements in areas relevant to their career interests. We utilise Unifrog to help with the administration and authorisation of placements. Students will have an opportunity to reflect on their experience and learning by completing a Work Experience Journal.
For any questions regarding this, please contact Mrs Culbreth
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
Virtual Work Experience Opportunities
Guide to writing a cover letter
Sample Work Experience Cover Letter