Work Placements That Work

Work placements that work

Over the last few weeks my team and I have been trying to get local sixth formers to grasp the concept of work and what is involved in getting a job. As I presented the recruitment workshop, number two in our programme Build and Fly Your Own Rocket (www.flyyourownrocket.co.uk), they sat there, inert and watchful, patiently tolerating my efforts to talk them the nuts and bolts of exactly how to go about getting a job. It has been a strange experience. I don’t think they really believed that employers are as demanding as they are. The reality, when it does come, will clearly be a blow to some.

The idea of exposing a student to work is in principle a good idea. Unfortunately, all too often it doesn’t work. There are many reasons for this and blame can be apportioned fairly evenly. My step- daughter, a senior writer on a woman’s magazine agreed to take some work experience students on. The first one started badly. She said something along the lines of “I’m surprised anyone here can produce a magazine; everyone’s so old.” My step-daughter, aged a ripe old 29, bridled slightly, but grit her teeth and did her best with this little princess. The student in question spent the week chatting to her friends on Facebook, surfing for holidays and clothes and avoiding doing any work. Nobody tried to correct her. She thought that journalism would be like the office in The Devil Wears Prada. Naturally it was a bit less glamorous and she turned her back on the opportunity to learn. After the third day the magazine team let her get on with it. Fortunately, the next work experience student was more diplomatic and did some good quality work.

They’ve told her she should get back in touch when she leaves school.

But employers must also take their fair share of blame. They often give no thought to what the student can do and are not prepared to allocate some time to integrate them. Many students complain – and justifiably – that nobody has taken the time to explain processes or provide any supervision and they often spend two weeks shredding, filing and making tea, bored to death.

There’s clearly some room for improvement. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and Jobcentre Plus have recently produced a booklet called “Work experience placements that work”. This guide is aimed at longer term arrangements for young people between the ages of 18-24. It is intended to help employers to improve the quality of the work experience that they offer. It may be that employers offering two week work placements can also learn from the contents and adopt some of the principles to create a better and more evenly balanced solution for both parties.

Russell HR Consulting provides expert knowledge in the practical application of employment law as well as providing employment law training and HR support services. For more information, visit our website at www.russellhrconsulting.co.uk or call a member of the team on 0845 644 8955.

Russell HR Consulting offers HR services to businesses nationwide, including Buckinghamshire (covering Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Milton Keynes, Bedford, Banbury, Northampton, Towcester and surrounding areas), Nottinghamshire (covering Chesterfield, Mansfield, Nottingham, Sheffield, Worksop and surrounding areas) and Hampshire (covering Aldershot, Basingstoke, Reading, Farnborough, Fareham, Portsmouth, Southampton and surrounding areas).

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