New guide will help businesses deliver high quality work experience

Helping employers and learning-providers deliver high-quality work experience is the aim of a new guide launched by Fair Train and the Association of Learning and Employment Providers.

The guide, commissioned and funded by the Department of Education, has been designed to enable businesses, schools and colleges to get the very best out of their work experience programmes.

There has been a quiet revolution in preparing 16-19 year-olds for the labour market, overhauling not only qualifications but also the ethos that sits behind them. Much greater emphasis is now placed upon providing young people with high-quality work experience.

But these changes have also presented challenges to providers and the new guide offers a practical overview of what learning providers and employers need to consider if they want to make the most of their work experience programme.

The checklist contained in the guide breaks these areas into themes so they can apply equally to employers and providers, while also enabling their programmes to be tailored to a very individualised level.

The guide runs alongside the national Work Experience Quality Standard accreditation - created as a framework to support employers and training providers offer first-class work experience for young people. The framework covers the chief features of a successful work experience programme – from setting up and implementation to evaluation and the organisational infrastructure required.

Organisations are independently accredited by Fair Train at Bronze, Silver or Gold level, enabling employers and training providers alike to demonstrate they are offering top notch programmes and making a valuable contribution to their local community.

The work experience e-guide can be downloaded at: http://www.fairtrain.org/uploaded_files/1235/images/FairTrain_ImplementingWorkExperienceElement.pdf