Planning Successful Work Experience Placements
Work experience is a valuable part of any student's educational journey - but how should schools (and employers) prepare for it?
What is Work Experience?
Work experience involves students going on a short term placement with an employer, to observe and work alongside people as they go about their daily tasks. They will develop skills, contacts, and learn more about the kind of career they would like to do.
Guidance for Schools: Risk Assessment
Schools, colleges, and organisations responsible for arranging student placements, such as Education Business Partners (EBPs) or third-party entities, should verify that employers have implemented risk management measures. The specific areas covered in the employer's risk assessment will depend on the level of risk involved.
It is unnecessary to generate additional documentation for the purpose of assurance or to question the employer's risk assessment and control measures. Attempting to evaluate their assessment without sufficient knowledge could create a misleading impression of approval.
Collaborate with parents to ensure that employers are informed in advance about students who may be at higher risk due to health conditions or learning difficulties. This allows employers to take these factors into consideration.
Provide the employer with relevant information about the student and offer guidance on the suitability of the student for a specific placement.
The Work Experience Supervisor must consider whether the young person will:
1. Work that is beyond their physical or psychological capacity This does not have to be complicated, it could be as simple as checking a young person is capable of safely lifting weights and following instructions. 2. Work that involves harmful exposure to substances that are toxic, can cause cancer, can damage or harm an unborn child, or can chronically affect human health in any other way Be aware of substances a young person might come into contact with in their work, consider exposure levels and ensure legal limits are not exceeded. All medical conditions should be considered in this context and notified to the employer in writing. 3. Work that involves risk of accidents that cannot reasonably be recognised or avoided by young people due to their insufficient attention to safety or lack of experience or training A young person might be unfamiliar with ‘obvious’ risks. An employer should consider the need for tailored training/closer supervision. 4. Work that presents a risk to health from extreme cold, heat, height, manual handling, noise or vibrationIn most cases, young people will not be at any greater risk than adults and for workplaces that include these hazards it is likely there will already be control measures in place.
Checks
When dealing with employers who are new to hosting students for work experience, discuss the tasks the student will undertake and any relevant safety precautions. It can be beneficial to take note of this conversation.
However, if you are already familiar with an employer and they have a positive track record, and the student's requirements are no different from previous placements, there is no need to repeat the entire process for a new student.
Avoid duplicating checks on employers. If you are utilizing a third party to coordinate placements, collaborate with them to ensure that employers are not asked to provide redundant information or perform duplicate tasks.
If a third party is responsible for organizing the placements, they should collaborate with you to ensure that arrangements and processes are not duplicated unnecessarily.
Guidance for Employers
Employers taking on a young person for work experience have the main responsibility for their health and safety. They should always check they know how to raise health and safety concerns.
Under health and safety law, work experience students are considered to be employees. There are very few work activities a student cannot do because of health and safety laws.
Insurance
An employers' liability insurance policy will cover work placements provided their insurer is a member of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), or Lloyds, so there is no need for them to get any additional employer's liability insurance if they take on work experience students. The ABI website confirms this.
For many insurers, a definition of who is to be treated as an 'employee' would include:
- any person employed under a contract of service or apprenticeship
- people on work experience schemes, for example students
If in doubt, employers should check with their insurer.
If an employer doesn’t currently require employers' liability insurance and are going to take on a work placement, they must discuss the situation with their insurer to check they have adequate insurance cover.
If they have fewer than 5 employees, they do not need to do a written risk assessment. If a work experience student increases their staff to 5 they do not need to do a written risk assessment for this temporary period.
Schools and colleges have no responsibility under health and safety law for work experience students. The employer is responsible for workplace health and safety.
Work Experience Ideas
Think Student has many helpful suggestions of where schools and students can find placements for work experience. They include:
- Volunteer at a care home;
- Get work experience at a secondary school;
- Volunteer at sports clubs or dance classes;
- Do work experience at a local newspaper or magazine; and
- Get work experience at a construction company