Work Experience: Preparing your Students

By Karen Holmes

So I’m in one of those cheap and cheerful clothes shops, the ones that are not doing our planet any good, and I’m watching two young people behind the counter. One of them is pale and wide-eyed; they look as if they might pass out at any point and their hands are trembling. The other is examining their fingernails with the intensity that we wish they’d give to their academic assignments. As they raise their eyes and look at me, I can read their thoughts: ‘What’s that old biddy doing in a place like this? If I ignore her, hopefully she’ll go away.’ 

I wanted to give them both a hug, which would have been singularly inappropriate, and tell them not to worry. Work experience would soon be over. 

All the teachers I speak to agree that the biggest problem they face is finding opportunities for work experience for their students – and the new guidance is making that even tougher. The burden of finding placements, managing employers’ visits to schools and colleges, and helping ‘entrepreneurs’ set up their mini-enterprises, is all consuming. It leaves little time to actually prepare students for what they will encounter when they leave their comfort zone and join a business for a week or two.  

Some young people have weekend and holiday jobs and are accustomed to working with adults, but many are not. The loss of autonomy they experience in a workplace is a genuine shock. At home and in their place of learning they are the focus of attention; in a workplace they are not because what matters is keeping the business running smoothly and profitably. And workplaces are full of ‘old people’ rather than young ones with whom they have something in common. 

Preparing your students before they go on a placement can do a lot to make the experience a success. Even if you have limited time, try and run through these points with them; maybe use it as a checklist that students can retain. 

1. The business will not bend to you; it’s up to you to fit in with the team and adapt to its working methods.  
2. Some employers have dedicated staff who supervise work-experience students but many do not. You may be teamed up with someone who doesn’t have children and has little knowledge of, or interest in, young people. It’s not personal; most people are kind and well-meaning but their communication skills may be lacking and they may have a heavy workload.  
3. You are there to learn what a workplace can be like, so keep your eyes open and do some detecting. How do staff talk to each other? How do they talk to customers? What is expected of them? What do they think about their jobs? 
4. Whether you’re seventeen or seventy, when you go into a new workplace you’ll feel out of your depth. That’s normal; everyone has experienced the same thing. Don’t be afraid to admit to your nervousness; it’s not a sign of weakness. 
5. If you don’t know something, ask. Your team members would rather you asked a dozen questions than did something wrongly. Admitting you’re confused or scared will win you allies rather than opponents.  
6. Don’t be cocky. Looking bored, scanning your phone when you get the chance and refusing to engage in conversation will only make your life harder. 
7. Prepare before your first day. Find out where you have to be and at what time. What is the dress code, if there is one? What time will you finish? What do you do at break time and lunchtime? What is the name of the person who is your main point of contact? 
8. What do employers want from work-experience students? Courtesy: they are doing you a favour. Punctuality: turn up on time. A ‘can-do’, ‘will-do’ or ‘will-try-to’ attitude: show willing. A pleasant manner: you may hate every minute of your work experience but it’s a very short interlude in your life so make the most of it.  

 Good luck! 

If you'd like the above points as worksheets to use with students, you can download them here.