Please be advised that we have officially launched the Work Experience (WEX) process with Year 12 today in an assembly.
We passionately encourage our students to organise their own work experience placement, wherever possible. The student benefits are greater if it is arranged in an area they are considering pursuing a career in. It also gives them valuable experience to reference during a University or Apprenticeship application and for their CV. We strongly advise you to encourage your son/daughter to do as much of the preparation on this as possible. The self-directed research finding a potential placement to approach and communication thereafter is all part of the experience
Previous years have seen 65% of our students successfully attending their own organised placements with the other 35% selecting from a menu of locally sourced placement by the Medway Education Business Partnership (MEBP). If your son /daughter fails to obtain something independently they can select from an MEBP placement for Work Experience, but please note that their career scope can be limited and availability is not guaranteed. Feedback from students has always been more positive from those who sourced their own placements.
Students are required to complete an ‘Own Placement Information Form’ with details of their chosen placement on a Google form, available under the Year 12 Google classroom Work Experience Tab. It is also available on the School Website under Sixth Form, Work Experience, where you can also find the WEX presentation and a number of FAQs that you may wish to read.
Please be aware of the need to adhere to strict deadlines for completion of the form therefore providing me with the Own Placement information. We are contractually obliged to meet this deadline which is not negotiable. It is set by MEBP, our agents, who have to carry out Health and Safety checks on each of the workplaces so that we know that our students are in a safe environment.
All own placement information must be submitted via the Google form by Thursday 30th March 2023.
The details required are:
- Company/business name, address, telephone number and website.
- The contacts name, position, email address and telephone number
- The nature of the business
Any information received after these dates will not be sanctioned and students will not be eligible to attend.
This is a fantastic opportunity for students to start networking and to gain a worthwhile Work Experience with post 18 Destinations in mind. Students with work experience, rather than an experience of work, will have an advantage over students not undertaking such an event and this will serve them well in a competitive job market. Last year 81% said it helped inform them about a career choice, 60% made useful future contacts and 27% were offered Apprenticeships, Internships or summer jobs. 71% of students organised their own placement.
Students must attend their Work Experience Placement for the whole week and should not book any appointments during their time with the company i.e. driving lessons. The expectation of employers and the school is that they attend full time. Absences must be reported to the school and the employer. Each placement has an organisation fee of £35 which the school will cover. Should a student fail to attend an organised placement we will seek reimbursement for this fee. I would also point out that the School Foundation Sports Day is held on Saturday July 1st. As normal all Year 12 students are expected to attend this and attend WEX on Monday 3rd July. They will not get a day off in lieu.
If you work in an organisation that would be prepared to offer work experience to one of our Sixth Form students, please contact me with details, by email, to elizabeth.hill@sjwms.org.uk In particular, but not limited to, Legal, Finance, Medical, Veterinary. All of these areas desire relevant work experience on University applications but can be hard for students to obtain.
We hope that you will be able to support the school and your child in this experience. If you or your child have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for your continued support.
Mrs E Hill
Work Experience Coordinator
Sixth Form Academic Mentor
EPQ Teacher
elizabeth.hill@sjwms.org.uk
