...to think there is a flaw in the system for school work experience placements?

[McGingery]

So my DD age 14 wants to be a vet, and has done for a couple of years now. She wants to do her school work experience at one of the local vets, zoos (there are 2) or animal shelters. NONE will take anyone under 18 because of their employee insurance.

I have reached out to the school telling them of this and their reply was that they couldn't do anything and that the problem was not just with us and 'animal' related jobs, but also in healthcare.

So all future vets, doctors and nurses can't get work experience in the career of their choice? This seems unreasonable to me.

This may not really be about insurance. I work in healthcare and we take year 10 and year 12 students but they are limited as to the tasks they can do due to confidentiality.

We make time to teach them skills like basic observations and resuscitation as well as expecting them to complete some simple tasks, but because it takes a lot of our staff time we limit the number of students each year.

Lots of animal places have 18+ requirements. It is hard enough to get placements when at college on an animal care course.

I agree with OP it has got much harder for children to get meaningful work experience. 30ish years ago my school helped me secure work experience with the RAF (spent in a base) and with a GP practice (at time I was considering going into the forces as a doctor / getting a bursary to help pay for Uni). I am sure with all the box ticking / insurance now (and stretched school staff) this would not be possible. There wasn’t anyone in my family who had been to university let alone trained as a Doctor to help!
My (STATE) school also got me a free week’s residential at Cambridge university. My own children got no work experience help or uni visits from school - I did what I could. If schools don’t have time and resources to secure work experience for children then work experience further embeds disadvantage for those who don’t have parental support/ the right contacts.

Work experience is not to experience the career you think you might want to do. It's to get up in the morning, dress appropriately, find your way there , follow instructions and understand a working day. That was explained very clearly when my children did it. For them the most exciting part was their lunch hour in the town. How can you have a 14 year old shadowing a doctor? My eldest is now a doctor and did their work experience in a solicitors office, photocopying.

Times have changed cos I was able to get work experience in a vets clinic in year 11

It really is to just give them a bit of experience of being somewhere outside of school, learning what it’s like to have to be punctual, wear work clothes (maybe) do a task that is perhaps repetitive and boring, but necessary. And also writing a formal email or letter in the first place! I’ve taught so many kids who don’t even know how to start a formal email, and as for capital letters…

I always encourage kids to go for small local businesses rather than the big companies. Even if they’re just making the tea and filing. A large number always end up at the local primary schools, but they usually have the best time!

Yeah it’s a whole week at my daughter’s school, and she’ll be 14 and 5 months. We have organise it ourselves and it’s been difficult to even get a response. It seems way too much

Why not try stables or kennels, for animal handling experience?

I work at a vet practice. We do take 14 year olds on WEX but only one at a time and all the local schools want the same week. They have to play second fiddle to the vet students, vet nurse students, animal care students and A level students who also need placements and who are actually a useful pair of hands and not a liability.
I’d look a lot more kindly on a child that was keen enough to come on a week during their holidays or on Saturdays.
It doesn’t have to be at a vet practice - look at farms, stables, rescue centre, pet shop, dog groomer, dog walking. Once she is 16 then commitment in any public facing role (hospitality, care etc) will look good on applications.
I do sympathise - my older son wants to do medicine and has found it difficult to get experience (his Yr 10 WEX was at a bank) and currently facing the wall of silence trying to secure a STEM placement for younger son. If the schools could collaborate and choose different weeks that would be a start!

Hospitals will take over 16

Sorry just saw your update. I would emphasise that your dc is happy to help with any tasks. So in a dog kennels for example, cleaning pens, walking dogs, cleaning the feed bowls. This seemed to have more success when we applied for vet med work experience. Look at what you can do for them.

Totally depends on the school, I am around the same age as you and our school didn't provide anything at all for the 300 students each year, everyone had to find their own. In the end I had to persuade a creche to take me on because it was the only thing I could get, absolutely hated it, best thing about it was the morning toast break 😂

Work experience as a taster for a career works best for those who are not planning on university. They can get nearer to doing what they would actually do as an employee. For one lad I taught, his work experience led to the discovery that he couldn't cope in hot environments, and he had to rethink his plan to study catering.

One of the saddest placements I visited was a girl in a law firm - she'd organised her own placement because she wanted to be a lawyer, but they were struggling to find things they could actually let her do.

I think for those heading to be medics, their best bet would be an old people's home, or a day centre - it would give them great experience of an age-group they are likely to spend a lot of time with.

DD didn't get to do work experience. I was going to try and steer her towards plumbing, as she might finish up with the ability to tackle minor repairs herself.

I wonder how much of an effect working from home is having on availability of placements - I imagine it might be considerable.

Disagree

I did work experience in a hospital and followed that career path...

If you work in a hospital massive salad you must realise how inappropriate it would be for a child to shadow any kind of medical staff. What work experience did you do in a hospital?
I'm interested as we found it impossible to get anything for my child who is now a doctor. The medical school application forms like you to have done some kind of related work experience and we went with holiday clubs for disabled children and care home work. He was over 16 then.

I did my work experience at a vets in year 10 in the 90s. I vividly remember the smell of the place, and observing an operation. By the end of a week I no longer wanted to be a vet!

The insurance side of things is really limiting now - DD did work experience in year 10 and we all found it hard to find anywhere willing to take 14 year olds.

I agree with the inaccessibility of work experience.

DS was very fortunate - his school decided to do WE at the beginning of Y11, and he'd already had his 16th birthday, which made it easier.

My work only does targeted WE with 2 particular schools, and will no entertain "word of mouth" WE.

Work experience is a nonsense. I come from a country that doesn't do it at all and people get jobs just fine. It adds nothing, it's just annoying.

I work in a vet surgery. We definitely take secondary school students for work experience. So, it may be their particular insurance doesn't cover them or they just aren't that keen.
But just so you know it's not all vets.

It's incredibly difficult to get work experience. My place of work doesn't even allow under 18s to visit anymore...

I’ve always detested school work experience - it’s pointless and gives you no clue what work is actually like.

Pets at home or somewhere like that maybe?

@McGingery What dc does at 14 won’t matter that much. What they do with caring for animals a bit later will matter. Most vet courses expect a hands on interest but check out what the unis say. Then do more than the minimum.

My daughter had had to sort hers recently.
Her old primary school are having her back but they don’t generally give work experience places to ex pupils.
It just so happens that I am a teacher and the new head there is an ex colleague of mine.
It is a more realistic work experience than coming with me.
She doesn’t want to be a teacher but school say use your parents networks and as we both work in schools as do both my brothers we don’t have much of a network other than schools.

It's not just animal and health - i work in a commercial office and we are not allowed to have anyone under 16 on the premises. So you can't even take your own child in for work experience. We were told it's down to insurance. We also don't offer unpaid work experience and can only take people into paid intern roles.