Welcome to the 'Work Experience' Guide.
This section provides general guidelines for the structure of a work placement project. Please refer to your department guidelines for recommendations specific to your discipline.
| Pre-Work Placement | |
| 1.1 |
Evaluate your own abilities & potential career aspirations in preparation for your work placement.
|
| 1.2 | Make arrangements for a suitable work placement based on your own self evaluation. |
| 1.3 | Based on your self evaluation identify a vocational learning project that you can achieve while on your work placement. |
| 1.4 | Negotiate your vocational learning project with your work placement provider. |
| 1.5 | Produce a detailed plan for your vocational working project. |
(1.1) Abilities & Career Aspirations?
- What are your strengths? Take the I-Could 'Buzz test' to find out (link below).
This is a good starting point to help you evaluate your own abilities in preparation for your work placement.
- Do you need career ideas, advice & tips? You may find the I-Could website useful (link below).
(1.2) Suitable Work Placement?
- Need some help finding a suitable work placement? Try the following websites: 'My World of Work', 'How to Find Work Experience' & 'Job Search' (links below).
Employers look for applicants who:
What transferable skills do you have?
| Work Placement Evidence | |
| 2.1 | Agree and carry out appropriate duties during your work placement. |
| 2.2 | Gather evidence of health & safety requirements and adhere to procedures while on your work placement. |
| 2.3 | Develop co-operative working relationships while on your placement. |
| 2.4 | Review your progress regularly in relation to specific duties while on your placement. |
(2.1) Appropriate Duties
- What do you expect to be doing on your work experience? What tasks have you carried out before?
e.g. Assess the health of trees | Prune, fell and plant trees | Check for potential dangers from trees | Control pests | Remove snow to take the weight off branches | Follow health and safety rules carefully.
(2.2) Health & Safety Requirements
- Your work experience provider will be responsible for your health and safety during your time with them. Employers need to comply with health and safety law - here are some sites that will be relevant to your placement: FISA Safety Guides, Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, COPR, COSHH, RIDDOR (links below).
(2.4) Review Your Progress Regularly
- What skills have you developed or improved as a result of you placement? Was the experience wholly positive, or could some elements have been improved?
e.g. Problems solving | Team work | Business & customer awareness | Using computers | Numeracy | Communication & literacy.
| Vocational Learning Project | |
| 3.1 | Negotiate & agree tasks that enable you to complete your project plan. |
| 3.2 | Carry out the plan for the project, making adjustments where necessary. |
| 3.3 | Analyse the output of the project to reach a conclusion about whether it has been a success. |
Your vocational learning project will usually take the form of a written report, where you should provide details of the tasks that you undertook during your placement. It should also analyse whether the placement met with your expectations, and was considered a success.
| Evaluate Learning & Development | |
| 4.1 | Analyse what you have learned as a result of completing the placement & project. |
| 4.2 | Review your abilities & career aspirations based on what has been learned. |
| 4.3 | Explain in detail any areas for further development based on on your review of your learning. |
(4.2) Review Your Abilities
- Kolb's Learning Cycle can be useful to help you reflect on your experience:
KOLB'S LEARNING CYCLE
Source: Leeds Beckett University (2015)
(4.3) Areas for Further Development
- If you need help developing your employability skills take a look at the 'Employability Skills' & 'Careers' websites (links below).
- Do you have a current curriculum vitae (CV)? You will find lots of hints & tips on the following sites, to help your update your CV:
Your work experience provider must submit evidence of valid 'Employers' Liability' & 'Public Liability' insurance certificates to you, before you start your work placement.
| Employers' Liability | Public Liability |
| Employers’ liability insurance protects the employer against the cost of compensation claims arising from employee illness or injury, sustained as a result of their work. It is a legal requirement if the business employs one or more people. | Public liability insurance protects the employer if clients or members of the public suffer personal injury or property damage because of their business. It can pay for the costs of subsequent legal expenses or compensation claims and is an integral cover for businesses that interact regularly with customers. |
Source: Simply Business (2018)
Definitions:
curriculum vitae (noun): (curricula vitae) (abbreviation CV), a written summary of one's personal details and the main events of one's education and career, produced to accompany job applications, etc. (Chambers Dictionary, 2018)
work experience (noun): a scheme arranged for school pupils or leavers, where they work unpaid with a company or organization, etc for a short time in order to gain experience. (Chambers Dictionary, 2018)
Alternative Words:
skill (n): skillfulness, ability, aptitude, facility, handiness, adeptness, deftness, adroitness, talent, knack, art, technique, training, experience, expertise, expertness, professionalism, finesse, mastery, proficiency, competence, efficiency, accomplishment, cleverness, smartness, intelligence. (Chambers Thesaurus, 2018)
attribute (n): property, quality, virtue, point, aspect, facet, feature, trait, characteristic, idiosyncrasy, peculiarity, quirk, note, mark, side, streak, sign, indicator, symbol. (Chambers Thesaurus, 2018)
Need help organising your work placement? Check out:
Sources consulted in the creation of this guide include:
Balance Careers, The (2018) Critical Thinking Definition, Skills, and Examples. Available at: https://www.thebalancecareers.com/critical-thinking-definition-with-examples-2063745 (Accessed: 29 May 2018).
BBC Bitesize (2018) Reflective writing. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/education/guides/zgthhyc/revision (Accessed: 29 May 2018).
Chambers Dictionary (2018) The Chambers dictionary. Available at: http://chambers.co.uk/book/the-chambers-dictionary/ (Accessed: 24 May 2018).
Chambers Thesaurus (2018) The Chambers thesaurus. Available at: https://chambers.co.uk/book/the-chambers-thesaurus/ (Accessed: 24 May 2018).
Forestry Industry Safety Accord (2018) FISA safety guides. Available at: https://www.ukfisa.com/safety-information/safety-library/fisa-safety-guides.html (Accessed: 25 June 2018).
Health & Safety Executive (2018) Guidance. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/guidance/index.htm (Accessed: 25 May 2018).
ICould (2018) Buzz quiz. Available at: https://icould.com/buzz/ (Accessed: 24 May 2018).
Indeed (2018) Indeed - find jobs. Available at: https://www.indeed.co.uk/ (Accessed: 25 May 2018).
Institution of Engineering & Technology, The (2018) The benefits of work experience. Available at: https://www.theiet.org/students/work-careers/work-experience/benefits.cfm? (Accessed: 24 May 2018).
Leeds Beckett University (2015) Models for structuring reflection. Available at: https://skillsforlearning.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/preview/content/models/index.shtml (Accessed: 28 May 2018).
My World of Work (2018) Work experience. Available at: https://www.myworldofwork.co.uk/getting-job/work-experience (Accessed: 24 May 2018).
National Careers Service (2018) Advice on how to look for and apply for jobs. Available at: https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/get-a-job/cv-sections (Accessed: 29 May 2018).
Pearson (2018) How to find work experience. Available at: https://www.pearson.com/uk/learners/fe-and-college-students/career-choices/careers-advice-topics/how-to-find-work-experience.html (Accessed: 24 May 2018).
Simply Business (2018) Business insurance. Available at: https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/insurance/ (Accessed: 25 May 2018).
Skills4StudyCampus (2018) Employability and professional development. Available at: http://www.skills4studycampus.com/orglogin.aspx (Accessed: 24 May 2018).
