AIBU to stop offering work experience?

[Itsallacademic]

Background: I work for a very large employer with many departments, my particular role involves specialised laboratories and equipment. For the past several years, I have offered work experience placements to 6th form students within my team (usually lasting a week or two). While this does require additional paperwork and specialised risk assessments, I felt it was worthwhile both to inspire the next generation and to contribute positively to the organisation’s wider profile.
Current situation: I now have a DD in Yr12 who is trying hard to secure summer work experience. Importantly, her subjects are not related to my area of work. DD's college regularly shares information about work experience opportunities, but due to our family’s income level/education level/postcode/etc, she is eligible for very few of the schemes. She has applied for everything she can but has not been successful so far.
So, I suggested that DD contact other teams and departments within my organisation assuming that there would be colleagues offering placements in the same way I have. However, every response so far has been negative - most say the organisation does not offer work experience at all, often citing H&S even for departments that are just office-based (obviously, as I work at the same employer, I know exactly what paperwork is required so I know this is not true).
My AIBU: This has left me wondering whether I have been overly generous all these years. Providing work experience for under-18s is time-consuming, comes with administrative burden and does require resources. I had always believed I was doing something worthwhile and contributing as a responsible member of the organisation. However, it seems that very few, if any, others are doing the same - basically they can't be bothered?
I have told DD that she is welcome to do her work experience in my team, even though it is not directly relevant to her studies (and perhaps it won't look so positive on her CV to have worked with her mum). But after this summer, I am seriously considering "closing shop" and declining any future requests from 6th form students. AIBU?

My son has just tried securing a 4 day work experience and after lots of people saying no he finally secured one. I am grateful to the people who have decided to let him do the experience. If you being able to do it gives you a sense of purpose or that you're creating something positive then maybe continue as I'm sure that those you've helped in the past were grateful for the experience. But if you don't like doing it then I can understand your frustration. It feels really unfair for your DC though.

I have a y12 child and my own business. I’ve hosted a y10 work experience student several times and this year I’ve got a y12 too. As you say, it’s a bit hard work. But I take the view that it’s good karma. That said, I won’t take 2 in one school year again.

What a kick in the teeth. I hope your daughter finds something.

I just wanted to say you sound absolutely lovely and thank you for everything you have done for those young people. I wish there were more people like you.

I do get where you’re coming from. Different scenario but I have been put off volunteering for life as I know all too well the feeling of going above and beyond and then feeling like a right eijit for it. Particularly when it’s taken for granted, blows up in your face or is not reciprocated when you need the support. But as my husband says when I get down about it “we do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do”.

Please continue if you can. I was told by my manager that we do not offer work experience but that the neighbouring department (with more risk assessment) does as they are set up for it. I have answered a student that I am sorry but that we cannot offer work experience for H&S reasons (mainly because of working with under 18's).

The fact no one else does it makes it all the more valuable that you do.
Could you start a movement in your company, encouraging others to do it?

Different industry but when I was a teenager, I must have emailed over 50 law firms, I contacted all the courts within a 50 mile radius and would follow-up with a phone call to show my enthusiasm. Don’t let DD give up!

I joined all of the societies I could when I got to university too and make sure I applied for everything. If you join a competitive industry, you have to be determined, enthusiastic and relentless in your pursuit!

Work experience is absolutely crucial these days so I wouldn’t give up providing that opportunity to others.

Well you could but it seems counterintuitive and more like sour grapes. The organization I work for is one of increasingly few to offer work experience to understand 16s and honestly it (and they) can be a pain in the arse. But the fact that so few offer it makes our efforts disproportionately important.

Thank you for the perspectives so far, I know it is somewhat childish for me to feel like this.

However, as doing these placements really does depend on my (and my team's) goodwill, right now my goodwill cup hath runneth a little dry. Perhaps after DD has got through this summer hopefully with some experience under her belt and then gone on to finishing her A-level exams, by next summer I'll be feeling more generous again.

I get your frustration, but not why you would want to punish others who are as desperate as your DD for a placement.

My DD did a placement at 16yo. She absolutely loved it. It has had significant impact in her life. It lead to her doing a PhD in the same field, which wasn't one she had considered at all at 16 and is now leading her into a specialised career. 5 days that will forever stay in her mind. She has kept contact with the main person who was so pleased to hear about her choice of work.

You do a very good thing. It's just a pity others don't.

What area is DD interested in? Perhaps someone here may have ideas for other work experience for her.

I agree with others that what you've been offering is really more valuable in light of the fact so many dont bother but that said if it is impacting your workload theres no obligation to carry on.

I think it's disgusting that internships / work experience are dependent on parent income. It's outrageous discrimination.

DD is looking at things along the maths/physics/engineering spectrum, so she's been applying for everything from accountancy placements to the astrophysics department. She's getting very disheartened because many of her classmates have secured places on the various other schemes (the ones she isn't eligible for) and her college keep well-meaningly asking her whether she's got anything yet.

DD's other option (apart from working with me) will be the virtual placements suggested on the UCAS website, she's earmarked this weekend for researching those and getting signed up.

I am in the unique position where I benefited from those schemes and because of that, my children won’t. I can see the outrage but off the back of these schemes, I got to enter into a competitive industry. I was the first to go to university in my family so had absolutely no connections. These schemes offered that.

On the flip side, my children will benefit from my connections so may not need those schemes in the same way I once did.

Totally understand why you're narked and feel this way but ....

We are all responsible for the decisions we make in life. Offering work experience is a positive, beneficial thing that helps young people and creates a positive future effect - that is what you are achieving. You should feel proud that you have been making the right decisions that help our children.

Does it sometimes feel that you're the fool trying to do the right thing whilst everyone else laughs at you - I know I feel that way often.

But those young people you have helped know what they gained from the experience and hopefully will go forward and do better.

If everyone makes life harder and harder for young people it's going to be a miserable future.

often citing H&S even for departments that are just office-based (obviously, as I work at the same employer, I know exactly what paperwork is required so I know this is not true).

See, if I knew they were bullshitting because they couldn't be arsed I'd go above their heads and land them in it for lying. If it's too much faff and they can't be arsed they needed to come up with a better excuse, or did they think as you work for the same employer you would just take their word for it! Petty, but meh.

Could you offer to run a “lunch and learn” type session to other departments explaining how valuable the work experience is for both the students and also benefits the department/company, giving a rundown of what is involved and how to complete the necessary paperwork? It maybe the other departments just don’t understand the process and think it would just be too hard work. It could be particularly useful for someone who was looking for promotion etc to organise in their department as a opportunity to showcase some extra skills?

Those colleagues wouldn't know that DD has a parent working in the same organisation, there are 1000s of employees, so they wouldn't know that I know they're bullshitting (IYSWIM). And you can't really get them on not being arsed because things like 6th form work experience is entirely optional and goodwill-based.

I don't believe in karma, so it seems to me that I'm stuck with being a kindly muggins for the rest of my career for absolutely no reciprocity.

Why punish other children due to your colleagues reluctance? Unless you have given a chance to their children specifically (then I’d drop them an email), but it’s great you are offering kids a chance to see how your department works - keep doing it.

It is actually very difficult for companies to offer work experience these days. Our insurer told us that under 18s would need to be supervised by a DBS checked member of staff at all times. That just isn't feasible so we don't offer any work experience opportunities to under 18s now with the exception of staff children (where the insurer agreed that the parent could take responsibility instead).

Or, the opposite - like government internships are now open only to those from "socially mobile" backgrounds.

So if you have the contacts you can get an internship. If you live in a "poor" postcode, you can get an internship. But otherwise, it's very difficult.

A couple of us at work have raised our concerns about offering work experience to clients' kids. Any such schemes should be purely on merit and anyone should be able to apply, not just doing favours for clients' kids.

My husband works for a large multinational and interships are highly sought after and prized.
They are usually kept in house as there is work involved.
In your place I would 100% contact HR and lay it out.
You have done this for years, as a positive for the community and in the spirit of good company PR.
You would like assistance in securing a relevant position for your daughter in house.

I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to do this.

If you stop offering work experience then you are only contributing to the problem that you are complaining about. What does that achieve?

Why not channel your frustration into contacting your colleagues, promoting the fact that you offer work experience, how you organise it, how you assess and manage risk and safety, etc. They may be saying no because they believe it’s not possible, but when shown it is possible then feel able to go ahead.

Maybe talk to her school about the impact of depriving some pupils from work experience opportunities and not others. Tell them that it makes you less inclined to offer if the opportunity is siphoned through some system that doesn’t prioritise interest and merit.

Our organisation's policy has a passing similarity, but in our case it is that under 18s cannot be alone with a non-DBS-checked member of staff. Therefore as long as there are always 3 or more people, and/or the room is open, this is permitted by the insurers.

Partly for this reason I have always taken 2 students at a time, plus a lot of our work experience programme (which I carefully devised over the years to give the broadest coverage of what our team does) tends to involve multiple staff members in a big open lab anyway.

The restrictions on eligibility are not due to her school, they are part of the placement schemes that are offered by the various other organisations. Her school merely shares the placement links to the whole year group.