Work Experience and Volunteering

When you are at school it is highly likely that you were given the opportunity to carry out at least a week of work experience, most likely during either Year 10 or 11. This work experience will provide you with some helpful hands on experience of the world of work, this will really help you when then looking for work. Employers are always interested in the practical skills that their employees have developed, that they are able to work well with others and are reliable and sensible.

If you haven’t managed to get any work experience it is not too late, you can still gain hands on experience through volunteering, or you may even offer to do work experience with an organisation.

Work Experience

This means going to a real workplace and spending time there as an employee, working alongside colleagues and learning about the tasks that are needed in order to successfully do the work. Work experience will give you the chance to:

• Gain hand on skills employers value
• Learn more about an area of work you may be interested in
• Find out what it is really like within a workplace
• Find out the skills and qualifications that are needed, as well as discover some career ideas

If you are still at school (as mentioned above in Year 10 or 11) it is likely that school will arrange for you to go on a one week work experience placement. The school will likely have a network of employers they work closely with each year, or you may be asked to locate your own employer. Before you go the school will check out the employer to ensure that the environment will be safe for you to work in , and what expectations they will have of you when you attend. They will also visit while you are there to ensure all is going well.

However, if you are not in education that doesn’t mean you can’t go on work experience, you can always organise their own placement by contacting employers you are interested in working with. This will not be easy and you will likely be rejected by a number of employers before you get a yes, but it could lead to valuable experience that may help you get your first paid job.

Once you have found the employer you are interested in you will need to send a speculative letter (we have an example that you can look at under Applying by letter or email), to explain your situation and what you hope to achieve through work experience with their organisation.

It is also possible for you to speak with your family and friends who may have the ability to help you locate a work experience placement within their own work, or other companies they are aware of within the local area, or they may even run their own business.

Before accepting to go on a work experience placement you will need to ensure the employer has Liability Insurance and a health and safety policy, this is needed to ensure that the work place will be a safe place for you to visit, and that if anything did happen you would be covered under the insurance. Any company that hires staff should have these in place.

Where do I do my placement?

As you can imagine some places will be more popular than others so be prepared to not always get your first choice. The main thing to remember is that it is the work experience that matters, and not always where you do it, it doesn’t even have to be directly related to the career you want to go into. There may be workplaces that are similar and therefore could give you a similar experience, but they all will help to develop your communication skills, punctuality, initiative and team working.

Volunteering

If you aren’t sure about approaching companies for work experience you could also consider offering yourself as a volunteer for a non profit making organisation, such as a charity or a community group.

The voluntary work could be wear you live or it may even be further afield, some even consider doing voluntary work in another country in areas like conservation or education. You can volunteer from as little as one hour a week, or as much as someone working full time.

With the current economic downturn this could be an excellent way to obtain experience, and also add to the personal qualities section of your application. Although usually unpaid, it is a great way to try out different areas of work, get valuable experience and meet new people. It can also lead to training opportunities or even a real paid job offer. You may even be able to work towards awards.

Great websites to help you with this include:

• www.vinspired.com
• www.dofe.org
• www.bvsc.org
• www.birminghambeinvolved.org.uk
• www.do-it.org.uk
• www.csv.org.uk

Saturday Job

Saturday Jobs are a great way to gain work experience and a little bit of money while you are still at school/college. That said there are some rules that need to be followed when getting a Saturday Job while at school.

• From the age of 13 you are able to get a part time job.
• Between the age of 13 and 16 you can’t work before 7am or later than 7pm during the week.
• You can’t work over 12 hours a week during term time - including weekends.
• Work cannot be harmful to health, wellbeing or education.
• Entitled to a 1 hour break for every 4 hours worked, also need to have at least 2 weeks off in a row during school holidays.
• Employers should register under 16’s they hire with the local authority, if they don’t you may not be covered under the employer liability insurance (even if its family run business).
• There isn’t a set minimum wage for under 16’s and so is left to the employer to decide.

When can I work Full-Time?

If you are under the age of 16 you can not start full-time work until your official school leaving date, which is ordinarily the last Friday in June of the year you become 16.

Due to the Raising of the Participation Age (RPA) this has slightly changed the situation, you can still get a full time job but there needs to be training towards an accredited qualification alongside the work, if not will need to stay in education or training.