Modern Work Experience
Work experience no longer looks like two weeks of making cups of tea, or working in an organisation selected for students based on convenience.
What is Modern Work Experience?
Modern work experience should guarantee every young person access to high-quality, multiple workplace experiences, totalling 10 days’ worth throughout secondary education.
The guarantee will help young people to make informed choices and improve career readiness and employability by offering multiple, variable and targeted experiences throughout their education journey.
Students may experience more frequent, shorter workplace experiences in years 7 – 9 before exploring their chosen career pathways in more depth in years 10 and 11.
What are the benefits of offering work experience?
- Strengthen your early talent pipeline; establish new, more inclusive ways to attract a more diverse mix of young people
- Maximise your social impact; create impact focused activities that meet specific CSR objectives
- Future proof the UK workforce; play a role in building a more sustainable and productive workforce for the future.
- Reinforce your brand and promote new and existing job opportunities and pathways.
- Enable your employees to be your ambassadors for outreach
- Build greater staff engagement with more opportunities to develop leadership, mentoring and training skills
What is a ‘meaningful’ work experience?
Work experience does not always need to take place in a workplace. For younger students, meaningful experiences can happen in school, while older students can apply their skills and knowledge in a real workplace. In all cases, it’s important for these experiences to meet the definition of ‘meaningful’ outlined in the Gatsby Benchmark Framework:
- have a clear purpose, which is shared with the employer and the young person
- be underpinned by learning outcomes that appropriate to the needs of the young person
- involve extensive two-way interactions between the young person and employees
- include opportunities for young people to meet a range of different people from the workplace
- include opportunities for young people to perform a task set by the employer or to produce a piece of work relevant to that workplace
- include the employer providing feedback to the young person about their work
- be followed by opportunities for the young person to reflect on the insights, knowledge or skills gained through their experience.
Let’s Make it Work!
Students will now benefit from a wider range of workplace experiences than ever before, offering employers numerous ways to engage. Some examples include (but are not limited to):
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2-hour workplace experiences |
A structured introduction to the workplace, including the opportunity to complete a work-based task or skills development session. This could include a tour and should provide the opportunity to meet a range of staff – ideal for larger groups. |
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Workplace visit day |
An interactive day of micro experiences where students tour your workplace, network with team members, complete tasks and get feedback, join small groups to explore the different types of job roles which they may not have otherwise considered. |
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Workplace safari |
A day of structured activities, typically coordinated by a school, college, provider or Careers Hub where multiple employers showcase a variety of careers on one site. The day helps students understand a broad range of businesses and career opportunities. |
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Shadowing |
A personalised experience where student(s) shadow and actively engage with a single member of staff carrying out their role for a day or longer, gaining deeper understanding about the role, responsibilities and career pathways. |
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Short workplace experience |
Student(s) spend a week or more in a workplace. This can be more general, where students observe different roles and activities, or more focused on a specific role of interest. |
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Multi-stage project |
A real-life project set by an employer which involves multiple touchpoints, such as visits with tasks in-between – e.g. students take part in an enterprise competition to set up a business or create a product/service. |
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Virtual experiences |
Half day, project led, one or two day experiences that are online and could include interactive career chats, virtual tours, work-based tasks and problems, essential skills development and should include feedback on work and the chance to meet a range of employers. |
Hub-Funded Work Experience Projects 25/26
This year, the South Midlands Careers Hub has funded two projects with external providers to support the delivery of Modern Work Experience with targeted schools. Please find an overview of these projects below:
We are currently inviting employers to get involved in these projects, working with the schools below on the specified dates.
- To get involved with The Inspirational Learning Group project, please email Sam@tilg.org.uk
- To get involved with the Working Options project, please email Evie@workingoptions.org.uk
Support for Employers
We provide access to:
- Simple templates and activity ideas
- Clear guidance on what makes a high-quality experience
- Tips and support for offering experiences to students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
- Help matching your offer with the right school or college
The free Employer Standards Framework also gives practical guidance for strengthening your offer at a pace that suits your business.