Businesses claim offering school children work experience is ‘too time consuming’

A significant proportion of businesses are deterred from offering work experience placements to school students due to time constraints and staffing difficulties, a new survey has found.

Two-fifths (41 percent) of companies that do not provide such opportunities said the process was too time-consuming.

Research conducted by The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) found that a third of senior business leaders who do not offer placements also report a lack of staff capacity to supervise young people (33 per cent) and 34 per cent struggle to identify suitable roles.

In total, just over half (52 percent) of the 750 business leaders surveyed are currently offering work experience. Moreover, more than half (58 percent) said the traditional two-week work experience block itself was too time consuming.

It comes after the government’s post-16 education and skills white paper promised to offer at least two weeks’ work experience for all secondary school students; This document came with the goal of breaking this down into at least one week of experience between seven and nine years of experience and the other into 10 to 11 years of experience.

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 at 946,000 from July to September.

Skills England deputy chief executive Gemma Marsh told a CEC event last week: “Work experience is absolutely essential to ensure young people can see where they need to get to.”

More than two-thirds (68 percent) of businesses surveyed by CEC said entry-level candidates were inadequately prepared for the world of work.

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

CEC advocates short, flexible work experience placements to compensate for weeks of experience in both years seven to 9 and 10 to 11.

These should prioritize young people missing out on opportunities and provide targeted support, starting early to allow students to access different sectors.

Speaking at the CEC event on Friday, Baroness Nicky Morgan, the former Conservative education secretary and chair of the CEC, said: “This is a new attempt to break away from the experiences of two-week block studies that have for too long been found to be inflexible, impractical and unattainable for many students and employers.”

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 Academy of Academies Trust, said: “We can only achieve this if more employers get involved.

“When businesses open their doors, our students get a clearer idea of ​​what work is really like and leave school better prepared for their future paths.”

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

“But expecting schools to simply offer work experience without taking into account some systemic barriers, including the capacity and affordability of businesses across the country, could put the promise of universal work experience unattainable.”