- By Buckinghamshire Business First
- 29 January, 2015
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Work placements benefit all parties, and two upcoming events will find businesses the perfect person to join their team for just one day a week.
As reported in Jane Mason’s Generation Now column in the Buckinghamshire Business First newsletter on 15 January, employers now value work experience above good grades in English and maths in their prospective employees, but that not enough businesses are practicing what they preach when it comes to actually offering work placements themselves.
Whatever the reasons for offering a work placement – 40% surveyed by the UK Commission of Employment and Skills did it for the corporate benefit and 11% did so as a recruitment tool - there are so many benefits to employers and those they offer a placement to.
You’ll be helping young people learn new skills and giving them experience in a place of work potentially for the first time. The positive knock-on effect for society of having a vast number of well-trained, confident, work-ready young people is not to be underestimated. For instance, young people are more likely to be successful in work if they previously took part in a work placement scheme. In many cases, a first taste of work will simply educate someone on the basics, such as dress codes, promptness, responsibility and improved attention span.
Businesses can benefit by getting an extra pair of hands around the workplace, while injecting a new face into the office has been proven to have a positive impact on staff. You never know, you may just discover your next employee of the month this way!
If you would like to offer a work placement, you’re in luck.
In partnership with Amersham & Wycombe College and Aylesbury College, Buckinghamshire Business First is hosting two events that will match together businesses and work placement candidates with the aim of businesses taking on a student one day a week for a minimum of five weeks. Students from the two colleges looking for a work placement will be those in the final year studying either Business or IT.
It is important that this work experience placement provides a serious grounding in the world of work. In other words, you can’t simply put someone in a corner and ask them to lick envelopes or do the filing that you’ve been putting off for months.
The first event is at Aylesbury College on Wednesday 4 March, 5pm - 7pm. The second is on Thursday 12 March at the Amersham & Wycombe Campus, 4pm - 6pm.
Businesses at this event will be able to provide an overview of what they can offer a work placement candidate, and will be able to meet and speak to the students interested in gaining experience at their organisation to find their perfect match. Book your place and find your perfect work placement match!
Follow the links below to book your place
