Work+Experience+Tips

 =Work Experience Tips=

(Most tips apply to WP as well)
By Ian Palmer

=Employers=
 * The school can often help you establish a program for your business, including student preparation, insurances and confidentially forms.
 * Prepare a list of suitable tasks so students experience a variety of work in your industry.
 * Induct the student just like a new entry level employee.
 * Ask if the student has a skill or career they like to experience during the placement.
 * Invest in the first hour to motivate and set the expectations for the placement.
 * Ensure the student keeps notes as this deepens learning and organising skills, and helps you can review their work daily and reinforce the types of skills applied.
 * Student motivation on routine tasks is higher when they are aware of a planned project or special task.
 * Encourage the student to interview one of your staff about their career journey including its up and downs. What career or study advice would they have for this student?
 * Work Experience is a good opportunity to develop supervisory skills in other employees.
 * Students crave regular and constructive feedback.
 * Take a few minutes to ask what they learnt or enjoyed about each day’s work.
 * Good coaching steps: Tell them; Show them; Watch them; Praise them; Correct them; Repeat.
 * Use workplace learning to help students develop key skills in teamwork, planning and organising, communicating with adults, initiative and enterprise, problem solving and generally instilling a positive attitude to work.
 * Make it count. Let the student know you will be completing the evaluation/feedback form at the end of the placement.
 * It’s often easier to host two or more students at a time as they help each other through problems and bolster each other’s confidence.
 * Regularly hosting students helps your business establish a polished routine and lifts the quality of workplace learning.

=Students=
 * Consider work experience good practice for job hunting and career development.
 * Prepare a script to canvass employers for a placement.
 * Practice your approach with friends and family to gain confidence.
 * Ask the employer about what to wear and bring, or take advice from experienced workers. Err on the conservative side of fashion.
 * Take a pen and make a “To Do” list so you never forget a task and can impress your supervisor during the daily debriefs.
 * Do a practice trip to the work site so nothing goes wrong on day one.
 * Impress the employer at least a week before with a call or visit to the work place: Introduce yourself, confirm the start date and time, what to wear and bring.
 * Impress the boss by keeping yourself busy in the placement by asking for more work, recognising helpful tasks you can do between jobs such as cleaning and tidying up.
 * Employers love it when you ask questions to understand the task, clarify any doubts and show your interest in learning.
 * Always give your best even if you don’t like the work. A reference or positive evaluation from a real employer may prove priceless in your job search.

=Parents=
 * Encourage your teenager to explore career options and develop a mature approach to work.
 * Nurture self-confidence by helping your teenager find their own placement (but not taking over).
 * Talk over each day and help your teenager reflect upon what they are experiencing and learning.
 * They may also need reassurance on breaking the ice in a new workplace and adjusting from school to a workplace culture.
 * Help your teen appreciate how a good education underpins a broader range of career options and success in the workplace.
 * You have a key role to promote key employability skills such as problem solving, team work, initiative and enterprise and how to communicate with adults and ask questions.
 * Keep them motivated to practice work skills, be reliable, punctual and display a positive work ethic.
 * Learning about careers they don’t like is also valuable.

=Teachers=
 * Prepare the students with work readiness training before the placement.
 * Consider using an industry speaker to explain employers expectations.
 * Student reflection exercises post-placement significantly improve program outcomes.
 * Employers receive placement requests from many different types of programs. Inform the employer of the objectives for this placement. Eg. Explore a career options, practice a technical skill, or as part of a personal development program to enhance their interpersonal communication skills.
 * Ensure the employer is thanked for participating and given some constructive feedback to help them maintain their commitment for future placements.
 * Especially nurture the committed and passionate employers that may wish deepen their partnership with education.
 * Contact your School Business Community Partnership Broker Program if you need help to establish the initial partnership for your program.

=Advanced=
 * Every workplace has routine and non-time critical tasks that could be saved up for student placements
 * Teenagers can smell fake tasks from a hundred yards. Keep the work real, or if it’s a training exercise be up front about it.
 * Reverse the emphasise- Adapt your work experience program so the emphasis is about training and developing supervisory and leadership skills in your staff. How well can they plan and implement a project using entry level staff (students)? Use the students to evaluate the supervisor’s program and projects success.
 * Your Partnership Broker can help you design and negotiate a project with the school, but remember the schools are busy places and students may not be allowed to miss vital lessons.
 * Work Inspiration contains a range of insights that can help employers elevate their programs beyond traditional work experience
 * Consider training some staff in youth mentoring to support at risk students.
 * Ask the school about the objective of each placement as programs vary considerably. E.g. career exploration, vocational skills or youth development objectives.
 * Programs for elite students need to be well designed to add significant value to justify time away from the classroom.
 * Invest in designing a program that promotes your business as an employer of choice. Students spread goodwill naturally when they are inspired by how great your business is.
 * Give schools feedback on how you can support their curriculum
 * Train your staff on how to plan, supervise, encourage and appraise students
 * Student can learn from observing work, but they learn better from doing. Learning is cemented by reviews and reflection exercises such as writing a daily journal.
 * Large companies that receive a lot of requests may be able to negotiate a coordination service with school regions. Contact your School Business Community Partnership Broker Program to see if such a service is available in your region.
 * Allow respite for employers who are in heavy demand, arrange for a weeks break between students.
 * For employers who are in high demand, request an application form for the student to complete prior to work placement. This will show if the student is committed to the work placement and not wasting the time of the employer.