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Original poster

Work experience at risk so how can we encourage our young people to make the right choices?

30 replies

Glasshalffull96 · 19/05/2011 20:31

I am horrified to discover that the Coalition Govt is looking to give schools the option of not providing work experience for young people until after their GCSEs. How are they going to have any idea of the sort of career they want let alone the skills and qualifications they might need? Beggars belief! In Bucks this means that a much valued service that brokers placements between schools and employers (and carries out risk assessments) will disappear so schools that choose to still offer this invaluable opportunity will have to organise it themselves or possibly pay a commerical organisation to do so! If you live in Bucks, sign the petition: www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/bebp . If you don't live in Bucks, find out what your local Education Business Partnership is doing: here today, gone tomorrow!

OP posts:
elphabadefiesgravity · 19/05/2011 20:51

There are lots of types of work experience that yo can't do until you are 16 anyway.

My work have had to stop accepting placements, we are a construction firm and under 16's are not allowed on site.

After GCSE's students are generally more mature and work experience canbe more real rather than the pointless excerciseit has turned into.

Crevix · 19/05/2011 20:49

I honestly can not see the point in year 10s doing 2 weeks work experience.

the options of where to go are so limited. all businesses and employers and employees are so overstretched i am not surprised they don't want the extra hassle of trying to amuse a 15 year old for 2 weeks. There are so many things they cant do they end up sitting around bored, making coffee or filing.

and what 15 year old knows what they want to do anyway?

i wonder if the traditional work experience for year 10s is an excuse to get them out of school while the GCSEs for year 1 re concentrated on.

DD1 is year 10 and we have been trying without any success to arrange a 2 week placement for July. it is impossible. the list given by school was snapped up by the first 10 applicants. every other pupil has to then find their own. impossible and hours of extra work for parents.

and pointless.

GypsyMoth · 19/05/2011 20:46

beds/bucks border here

dd did hers in year 10 and has now decided she doesnt want to do teaching

Original poster
Glasshalffull96 · 19/05/2011 20:43

Yes but they are encouraged to think about what sort of work experience they might like to have in Year 10: take that away and there is no conversation. I am also thinking more about their post-GCSE studies as the government has decided to effectively raise the 'school leaving age' to 18!

OP posts:
bruffin · 19/05/2011 20:39

They don't do work experience until after the have chosen their gcse's anyway, so your op doesn't make any sense.