Work Experience Y12

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Work Experience Y12
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When?

• Monday July 6th - Friday July 10th
• After Y12 modules
• Completed before Y13

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Who does it?

• Those going into higher education
• Those going into employment
• Everybody
• Why?

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Why?
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For those going into Employment
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What does work experience provide? Work
Experience can lead to an improved understanding
of how commerce and industry operate, and the
roles of managers, and their employees It can
provide an opportunity to see the relevance of
school subjects to, and a taste of, the world of
work The experience of coping in an adult world
should help the participants to obtain greater
self-confidence, self-reliance and general
maturity
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Connexions - the National Careers Service for
young people - recommend that work experience
should be mentioned in any letter of application
or CV to a future employer. For a candidate who
looks as good on paper as any other candidate for
a job, it may be relevant work experience that
tips the balance in your favour and lands you the
job
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For an applicant for a position in an accounts
department in a large firm in Coventry- I
spent a week working with ACE Insurance in
Coventry. During my placement I was given the
opportunity to look in detail at aspects of
finance, insurance, marketing and accounts and
how this related to my AVCE in Business. I was
particularly interested in the accounts
department and in the section dealing with claims
and explaining the financial details to customers
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For those going into Higher Education
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• If you are going into Higher Education, Work
  experience in Y12 gives all the benefits you get
  if you are going into employment
• PLUS
• A placement related to the career / university
  course
• you are considering and also to your A level
  subjects.
• Essential when you come to complete your
• university application form in Autumn 2009
• Points for discussion at an interview that you
  may
• have

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What do Graduates do 2008? A host of local and
national surveys have questioned employers about
what they want from their graduate recruits. The
consensus is that employers want intelligent and
enthusiastic individuals who can organise and
plan their work and interact with others
effectively. .....
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Some of these skills will be developed by your
academic study, others will need to be developed
outside your studies. Your applications will be
more convincing if you can point to a range of
situations in which you developed the skills the
employers seek and make yourself more employable
What do Graduates do 2008?
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What skills do employers want? Out of 60 skills
mentioned in a survey of recruiters done by the
University of Central England, the top 12
were...
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1 Willingness to learn 2 Commitment 3 Dependabilit
y / reliability 4 Self-motivation 5 Team-work 6 Co
mmunication skills (oral)
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7 Co-operation 8 Communication skills
(written) 9 Self-management 10 Drive /
energy 11 Desire to achieve 12 Problem-solving
ability
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These skills are not academic skills in themselves

• They are life skills

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Well over a third of jobs advertised for
graduates are open to students from any
subject
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• It is important to develop the skills mentioned
  not just to get into work, but also to get in to
  Higher Education.
• Many courses require evidence of these
• skills

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Medicine
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• Veterinary science

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• Teaching

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Law
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School will receive checklist outlining what
evidence you need to show in these areas for the
school reference on your UCAS application
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So how can you get these skills?
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Look at opportunities for skills development in
your own backyard

• School council
• Clubs and activities
• Fund-raising
• Sixth-form institutions
• Taster courses

• Part-time work
• Teach younger children
• Volunteering opportunities outside school
• Gap year plans
• and ..Work experience

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• More and more higher education institutions
  offering Work Experience as part of the course
  e.g. Year 3 out in industry
• Employers wanting to recruit people with
• experience of the world of work
• Many professions require work experience as a
• prerequisite to professional practice
• Sample a career to inform choice

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I know I need to do work experience
but .how to I get a work
placement for July?
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• Be pro-active / use your initiative
• Apply early
• Write letters / make phone calls
• Use contacts / family / friends / neighbours /
  teachers

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• Use Yellow Pages
• School WE files of placements
• Placement need not be local

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• All placements have to be vetted by
  Connexions if they are not,
• You CANNOT do work experience
• We ask you to contribute 5 to this

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• All placements to be confirmed by you by March
  2nd 2009

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• You CANNOT do work experience
• if you have not confirmed your placement by March
  2nd 2009

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• Making contact
• Explain you are A level students
• - you may be treated differently
• Write a good letter - (example provided on
• school sixth-form website)
• Give details of subjects / type of work
• interested in

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Once contact made by you and placement agreed,
the school can process the details and check that
insurance is available. Then youre sorted!
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Work experience is so important since it
demonstrates commitment and enthusiasm. Getting a
job or winning a place in higher education is a
very competitive business nowadays, and you have
to prove that youve got what it takes. People
with a clear sense of what they want out of life
will enjoy a competitive advantage over those who
just amble on with no direction. If you can show
a potential employer that youve shown initiative
and have put yourself out to get the right kind
of experience, you are bound to win praise for
your efforts.
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...Employers and colleges are looking for
something beyond the obvious. You could have
brilliant paper qualifications but very little
experience. The best candidates for a job have
that winning combination of the right
qualifications and the right work background.
Its not unheard of for a straight-A student to
be turned down due to their lack of experience in
a certain area. Its worth thinking
ahead.. Tom Lovell, Head of Reed Graduates
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The early bird catches the worm