To think 4 weeks work experience at 13/14 is a pointless crock of shit.

[Experiencedout]

I have name changed as I'm pretty sure I have seen someone from dds school post.

Dds school do two weeks work experience in year 9 and two weeks in year 10 with an option for more in year 11.

They are given anywhere between three months and three weeks notice of the dates and this has changed (so not like you can base it on when older years have been).

Because of the lack of time on the shorter notice one and the fact that not many places will take them at 13 its a scramble to get anywhere suitable.

Last year so many failed to get a placement that they carried on normal lessons and testing to the detriment of those on placement.

This year everyone was told go or we will find you somewhere. As we live out of area that would be very difficult for us as dd doesn't know the town and areas around school.

So we found placements vaguely similar to what she wants to do.
Last time it was OK and she did some good things but mostly it has been doing basic admin stuff.

So in effect she has spent four weeks of school time cutting and sticking, laminating and printing. Which would be fine for a week but four?!

Given that they weren't allowed to watch a film at Christmas because 'every minute of learning counts' and they have banned holidays in term time because it is so damaging aibu to think that although I can see some of the benefits of a week or two work experience then four weeks is bonkers?!

Most brighter kids who will go on to uni don't benefit from early work experience

I don't know about that. Depends on how early you mean. I agree 14 is too young.

However I think the brightest kids in particular benefit from understanding that mundane things have to be done and success comes from working ones way up from the bottom.

I've seen a fair few oxbridge grads in my industry come a cropper because they believe that the more routine tasks that are typical of grad roles are 'beneath' them.

She ended up at that school out of lack of alternative options rather than choice really. It isn't a selective school but actually she thrives on the intense structure and strictness of it.
She does miss cooking and design technology to be honest. Cooking we do at home though.

I have noticed a lot of schools locally are stripping creative subjects to the bone because of pressure and funding.

It's a waste of time. And expecting the parents to sort it is ridiculous. The ones with the connections will of course be able to get their kid something fascinating.

A part time job would be far more useful. I had loads of jobs from age 12 upwards and even though they were all low paid mundane things and I went on to do several degrees, I still learned a lot about work ethic, getting on with people, different ways in which employers can treat you, the importance of study to avoid being stuck in a boring low paid job, the feeling of working really hard and getting only £3 an hour, the satisfaction of working for money etc etc. People who don't have these jobs and don't work until they graduate can end up feeling like things are beneath them, and not know how to handle basic workplace issues that crop up.

Work experience on the other hand - I can't even remember where I went for one placement. The other I remember but don't think think it was useful career wise. Getting out of school and getting a new perspective has to be a good thing though

It depends on the quality of the experience offered, I agree, @Experiencedout. All three dses did work experience, and found it fascinating and useful experience, even though two of them have not gone on to work in the areas where they had the experience (ds3 is still at university, so I can't say if he'll go to work in the area where he had work experience).

We were lucky that dh was able to organise work experience for ds2 and ds3 through his job, and that the people who actually organised it for them made sure that they had a good experience.

Ds1 ended up in the workshop of a big haulage company - he went on to do law at university and now works in commercial contracting, but he has always been a total petrolhead, so he had an amazing time working on the engines of big vehicles. If I recall correctly, he went along on a test drive too.

The problem is that the experience has to be thought out properly, and it has to offer the student real experience of being in a work place, otherwise it is pretty pointless - although I suppose one could argue that having to get up and get into work on time, and having to do the menial and boring tasks that a new starter might end up doing, is good experience, because it shows the student that work is boring and tedious sometimes, but that these jobs still need to get done - and that they can't expect to walk into a CEO's job straight out of school or university - most of us have to pay our dues in the world of work by doing the boring stuff, before we get the chance to advance.

That's true about the parents with connections, expat but sadly that's true through life too.

The real difficulty is transport especially if you live somewhere with little public transport.The imagine an entire school year 10s all trying to find placements.So many jobs that can't cater for 14 ye olds.
To be fair the school based it around formal letter writing and emails.
So DD will be doing 2 1 week placements,to be fair both seem to be planning to make it as useful as possible with and informal meet for a cup of tea and meet the team at one that I am invited to.The downside is there is no way this is something she would want to do and not somewhere to do casual work when she's older.The other is the local library(they still remember her from preschool story time).Even if she loves this she would face a difficult working life as a librarian.
It all seems so pointless.

Transport has been an issue for us too but she would have to manage transport for work so not an issue.

In fairness the placement have been trying to find her useful things to do but when a lot of the sessions that are on are not suitable for her to join in there is nothing else for her to do.

I don't really get the point in work experience. Unless it's changed since I was at school.

I actually didn't manage to get a placement but we had 'industry week' at school for those who didn't have placements and we did all sorts of interesting things relating to various careers. I felt I got a lot more out of that than I would have from doing actual 'work experience' in a shop or office (I know there are many options for w/e but this is what I most likely would have ended up doing as did a lot of my peers).

Hopefully when she is 18 transport will be covered by car bike,not really an option at 14.I work full time shifts so cannot take her there or back.She will be using her bicycle for the first placement but it is a busy road rush hour traffic and a lot of lorries.The first bus she could catch would beat 9.30 and another at 3.30 so transport is an issue.

It was called Project Trident when i did mine in 1988 at Rumbelows. Ah what an experience.............the mother of the lad who was bullying me at school decided to get her own back on me for "telling on him" by making a customer complaint about me.

I asked the manager several times whether the clothes i was wearing was appropriate it was a skirt and blouse (sometimes a jumper) i asked at interview and a couple of times throughout placement and they said "yes you look smart its fine"

So why then did they put on the report afterwards that they had spoken to me about what i wore a few times but "no improvement was forthcoming"

Typing this i have realised that this was one of my first experiences of gaslighting.

I showed my reaction for the way id been treated by playing noughts and crosses all over the form before handing it in to my form tutor.

Bastards.

Well she has actually had a great day today and done lots. And as I said the staff are wonderful.

But I stand by four weeks being too long!