Speakers for Schools: Work Experience Programme

Abstract

The Speakers for Schools online work experience programme links state schools students up with virtual and face to face work experience and career-related learning through an online portal. Students can join 3–5 day placements either online or at the host employer's workplace.

Online placements include multiple opportunities for live interaction with employers through Questions and Answer sessions (Q&As), tasks, breakout rooms and other activities to help students build their knowledge of careers, employers and the workplace.

Students can also access shorter Insight Sessions to learn about roles in various careers, industries or employers.

Resource overview

Website: Speakers for Schools: Work Experience

Students register on our online portal. They sign up through their school and are able to view hundreds of opportunities from 1-day Insight Sessions to 5 day Virtual and In person Work Experiences. They then apply for an opportunity they are interested in and a teacher confirms they are able to attend. In many cases all students that apply can attend but for those with limited places, the employer then selects the students from applicants on the list.

The exact content of both Virtual and In person Insight Sessions and Work Experience vary depending on the length of the session, the employer running it and the content focus.

Virtual

An example virtual Insight Session would often involve a talk and opportunity for Q&A with an employer, some form of discussion/interactive activity and then a task for the students to complete and submit.

For Virtual Work Experience, there would be typically a higher number of short interactive sessions for the morning, often around different elements of an organisation or careers advice. In addition, students engage on an ongoing project across the placement which they present or submit at the end.

Some activities could include a virtual tour of an office, CV/interview skills workshops, creative tasks and group discussions. Some of the previous Virtual Work Experience projects have included designing an apartment to a specific design brief, creating a social media campaign or research project and presenting on the impacts of building a new railway station.

In Person

For In person Insight Sessions and Work Experience, there is still the opportunity for Q&As and discussions with the additions of physical site tours and hands on activities and the experience of being in a workplace.

Description of technology

The Speakers for Schools work experience programme is hosted and managed through an online experience portal where employers advertise their opportunities. Teachers share opportunities with students who then apply for any which they are interested in.

The portal is a one stop shop for all of Speakers for Schools student-led opportunities and enable students to access and apply to live and interactive placements both virtually and in person.

Virtual opportunities are available to all students whilst in person opportunities are restricted by location and only open to applications from students within a reasonable distance from the host workplace.

Additional to the online portal, for our Virtual Work Experiences and Insight Sessions, the placements take place online through Google Classrooms and Google Meets. Students are given individual accounts to log onto these placements, so they are not sharing any of their personal emails whilst joining the placement. During these placements, they can interact with the employer and other students through video calls, the Google activities of Jamboards, Polls, Q&As and breakout rooms. Tasks, resources and plans for the work experience are uploaded onto the Google classroom for students to access.

How the resource makes career guidance more effective, efficient and/or equitable for students

The Speakers for Schools online portal is a resource where students can find work experience from hundreds of employers across the UK which they may otherwise be unable to access through their schools careers service or personal connections. Our 'VWEX' or Virtual Work Experience allows students from all over the UK to access careers and employers from areas that they would be unable to travel to in person, whether due to distance or due to the costs involved in travel. Students are also able to easily gain insight into a variety of different types of industries, employers and career paths and hear first hand from the employers themselves.

Challenges or potential barriers to use

Our portal and online experiences do require access to a computer in order to apply and a reliable internet connection to be able to partake in our online work experience. A very basic level of digital literacy is also needed to take part - i.e. knowing how to log onto an email account. However, Speakers for School staff are available to support with the log on processes and to answer any technical questions.

The resource is free of charge

Free for state school users. Free for partner employers for a basic service but additional packages available at a cost.

Support for users

All students applying for work experience need the support of teachers to confirm they are able to attend the placement. This includes providing parental consent and sharing any additional needs a student may have so an employer can accommodate them on a placement.

Additional details

 

Has the resource been…	Yes or No?	Description	Link
…informed by research?	Yes	The design draws upon literature reviews.	https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/media/wknmpwvm/what-works-report-work-experience.pdf https://www.speakersforschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/SQW-Rapid-Review-of-the-Evidence-on-Work-Experience-FINAL-with-foreword.pdf
…funded by government?	No
…recognized by peers?	No
…evaluated?	No

This resource has been endorsed by Barnet and Southgate College in London, England.

Disclaimer: This content is provided by the submitting organisation.