What can I ask a 17 year old work experience student to do?

[goldenoldie]

I've been asked to give 6 weeks work experience to a 17 year old from the local FE college.

I work in a research department, so much of what we do is quite technical and needs a degree of skill.

I've been told I can't just use them as a bit of admin assistance, so I'm at a loss to know what to do with them for 6 weeks so they get something out of it and I don't spend all my time checking everything they do.

Suggestions please?

tell them what you can offer and then they can take it or leave it?

Can't you just create an easy research job for them to do? Like, look at an old project/brief that you did once before, and let them have a go at a watered down version of that, where you know the outcome already so there's less checking up and nothing they can really do wrong?

And I'm sure you can also use them as admin assistance a bit, as long as they get a taste of the real job too.

Perhaps you could put them to sit with one person in the department a day and let them help with that persons workload?

there must be a bit of research they can conduct. from writing out the open questions in the correct way - oh no before that - identifying the best form of research to use, talk to the people who want the research done - perhaps have then draw up a brief or the student, then designing the research questionnaire - or whatever - to carrying out the research.

i am sure if you are a nuclear scientist charged with world safety - or soemthing equally important, that you could find some form of research to undertake - keeping in mind that perhaps the research itself isn't going to be useful to you - but the development of the technique, following the brief, speaking to other people about their research needs designing a questionnaire (or whatever) collating the information and writing it up as a coherent report - perhaps even a power point presentation to a staf meeting showing what they have found (you know 70% of respondants who answered this question said that they did indeed identify with Elvis) is going to be useful to tthe student.

Many thanks for your suggestions.

Def could not let them loose on collecting any data from my client group - but maybe I can get them to do a bit of a lit review, no analysis, just finding and cataloging all the references, and conduct a small project on the staff.

Scummy - LOL - 6 week of making the tea and ensuring the chocolate biccy supply is topped up!