Offering work experience ‘too time consuming’, some businesses claim

Two in five (41%) businesses that do not offer work experience to school pupils say it is too time consuming, a survey has found.

A third of senior business leaders surveyed by The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) not offering work experience also said they do not have the staff capacity to supervise work experience (33%), or they lack suitable tasks for young people (34%).

Of 750 business leaders surveyed in total, just over half (52%) said they currently offer work experience.

More than half (58%) said the traditional two-week work experience block is too time consuming.

This comes after the Government’s post-16 education and skills white paper promised to deliver at least two weeks of work experience for all secondary school students, with a goal of splitting this into at least one week’s worth of experience in years seven to nine, and the other in years 10 to 11.

Last week the Office for National Statistics said the number of young people not in employment, education or training (Neet) remained close to a million from July to September at 946,000.

“Work experience is absolutely fundamental to ensuring that young people have that line of sight to where they need to get to,” Skills England deputy chief executive officer Gemma Marsh told a CEC event last week.

More than two in three (68%) of businesses surveyed by CEC said entry-level candidates are underprepared for the world of work.

Three quarters (75%) of businesses also said making it easier to work with schools would make them more likely to offer work experience.

CEC is advocating for short, flexible work experience placements to make up the weeks’ worth of experience in both years seven to nine and years 10 to 11.

These should prioritise young people who are missing out and provide targeted support, and start early to allow students to access different industries.

“This is very much a new attempt to break away from two-week block work experiences that for too long been found to be inflexible, impractical, and out of reach for many students and employers,” said Baroness Nicky Morgan, former Conservative education secretary and CEC chairwoman, speaking at CEC’s event on Friday.

CEC is calling on schools and employers to sign up to its new approach to work experience to help give young people more choice.

Ellis Potter, head of apprenticeships and careers at The Priory Federation of Academies Trust, said: “We can only deliver this if more employers get involved.

“When businesses open their doors, our students gain a clearer sense of what work really looks like and leave school even more prepared for their future pathways.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “School leaders recognise that work experience and high-quality careers advice are vital in helping young people plan for their future.

“However, simply expecting schools to deliver work experience, without considering some of the systemic barriers, including the capacity and buy-in of businesses across the country, could leave the promise of universal work experience out of reach.”