Schools
“Flight operations assistant”, “fancy dress assistant”, assistant contact centre agent, “supported living horticultural assistant”, “HGV & plant junior assistant” and last, but not least, “exotic pet shop assistant”! What do all these job titles have in common? The clue is partly in the word “assistant” as they are all work experience placements on our database.
The Employability Partnership’s role is to link together the worlds of education and business, both through brokering placements and providing a quality assurance service, checking that all the opportunities offered are safe and meaningful. We organise thousands of placements a year, covering a huge range of diverse occupational areas, such as engineering, agriculture, retail, catering, childcare, science, finance, hair and beauty, and many more besides.
These placements can come in all shapes and sizes, but tend to fall into three four areas:
This is the programme that most people still think of when work experience is mentioned and it remains very popular with schools, academies and colleges across Cambridgeshire. As the name implies, it consists of a one or two week placement, undertaken in year 10 or 11.
Many students from mainstream schools, special schools and establishments offering an alternative provision undertake this type of work experience, which can take the form of one or two week blocks, but more usually one to three days per week throughout the year or for a fixed period such as one term. The ability of the students and purpose of the work experience may vary considerably but is primarily aimed at those who might benefit from a more in depth and prolonged introduction to the world of work.
The format for this programme is very flexible and placements are aimed at either satisfying specific course requirements or higher education entry criteria.
Independent Schools
This programme is similar to Post 16 provision, often aimed at higher education entry criteria and usually consists of placements sourced by the school or students.
Finally, being in an educational establishment isn’t a prerequisite for undertaking work experience. We also broker placements for young people who are educated at home, so just contact us direct if you are interested in this particular service.
for contracted schools