Work Experience at BSW

The below information is for Year 10s planning a 3-day placement in ERA week. If you are in Year 8 and wanting to know more about the Work Taster Day (take your child to work), please look here.

USEFUL LINKS

Information and Guidance for employers (including a starter risk assessment template)

STEP ONE: FINDING A PLACEMENT

START WITH YOU

Your hobbies and interest can give you a direction for work experience. For example, if you love animals, you could contact local pet shops, animal shelters, or nature reserves. Think of shops like Pets at Home. Similarly, think about which subjects you enjoy in school. If you enjoy art you could reach out to galleries, if you enjoy photography, find local photography companies etc,

BE SPECIFIC & REALISTIC

If you know what path you would like to follow in the future use this as a starting point and consider the wider industry around this. For instance, you are unlikely to be able to shadow a surgeon, but you could explore other roles in the healthcare industry, like working in a GP surgery, dental practice, or nursing home. This will give you relevant experience for applications – remember work experience is about developing employability skills, which will often be transferable.

SEARCH ONLINE

Websites like Google can help you find local businesses. For example, you can search for “banks in Worthing” to get a list of nearby banks and building societies. Once you have a list, you can start contacting them to ask about work experience opportunities.

NETWORKING: WHAT CONNECTIONS DO YOU HAVE?

Who do you know that might be able to help? Your family, carers, neighbours, and friends might have connections to businesses that could offer you a placement. Consider the clubs or groups you attend (e.g. sports, dance, stage school, cadets etc). Reach out and ask if they know of any opportunities.

YOUR CONNECTIONS ARE YOUR MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE

BE PRACTICAL

When choosing a placement, think about how you will get there and what time you’ll need to arrive. It’s important to choose a location that’s accessible to you and consider the travel time to ensure you can get there on time.  Also consider how you would get back on your own in case of an emergency.

If you are finding it challenging to find an employer, email the school careers team

STEP 2: FIND AND CONTACT AN EMPLOYER

Look at the contact/find us page on the employer’s website or maybe on google. This should have the information for contacting them, your choices are:

1. Telephone the company to enquire about work experience.
2. Visit the company to enquire about work experience.
3. Call the company to find out the name and email address of the decision maker and send an enquiry via email (this must be sent from your school email account).
4. Look at the company website to find the company email address and send a general enquiry (this must be sent from your school email account).

The most successful work experience placements are secured when you phone or visit face-to-face. Emails can end up in junk or not with the right person.

If you use emails for your placement search, you should decide how often you will check for a reply and when you will contact the company to follow up if you haven’t received a response – we suggest after 1 week from sending your first email.

Make sure to:

• Introduce yourself in a friendly and positive way, as this will help build a positive first impression of you to the employer (which might make them more likely to say yes!)
• Tell them which school you are from
• Tell them the dates you are allowed to undertake work experience so that they know when to expect you

Some employers may ask you to apply for a work experience placement with them.  If you need to build a CV, use Unifrog’s CV/Resume Builder.

When adding references, please use your Tutor. 

EMPLOYER SAYS NO?

Some employers are unable to offer work experience for very fair and legitimate reasons. For example, you might not be able to work on a build in the construction industry, but try asking if there is any scope for you to work in the office for the Foreman. Some companies say no simply because it is their policy (which we must respect) or because they don’t know the legalities of taking on a student for a placement.

Here is a document with a basic Risk Assessment and FAQs that you can share with employers to help alleviate some of their concerns.

STEP 3: COMPLETE THE UNIFROG FORM

You MUST apply for permission to undertake your work experience placement by completing a Unifrog placement form.

This is so we…

…know where you will be completing your work experience placement.

…are satisfied that the placement provider will, in line with the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance, take primary responsibility for your health and safety and manage any significant risks associated with the placement.

You CANNOT start your work experience placement until you have received permission from Bohunt with a fully completed work experience form.

Forgotten how to log into Unifrog? Click ‘forgotten password’ on the log in page or contact the Careers lead for help.

STEP 4: AWAIT APPROVAL

This will be visible on your Unifrog profile and looks like this:

You, your parent/carer, and the employer will also receive an email that starts and looks like these:

If you are waiting to receive permission, please check the student, employer, and parent sections have all been completed and submitted by looking at your Unifrog placement tracker.

STEP 5: PREPARE FOR PLACEMENT

Use the Unifrog placement journal, to help yourself be prepared for your placement and keep track of your learning on your placement.

You will be contacted or visited by a member of staff during your placement.

The employer can contact the school at any time, if they have any concerns, queries, or are not satisfied with behaviour/attendance etc. Remember, they are giving up time to support you – make the most of the opportunity and always show consideration.