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Early careersLatest NewsEducation - schoolWork experience

Work experience should be compulsory says FSB

by Rob Moss 24 Apr 2019
by Rob Moss 24 Apr 2019

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling on the government to reintroduce work experience for all school pupils aged 14 to 16.

The coalition government abolished compulsory work experience for students in England at key stage 4 in 2012 and has faced calls from business groups since to reinstate it.

The FSB says the current government policy makes it harder for students to get their first taste of working and for small firms to engage with schools and communities.

Work experience guidance

Work experience and children – employment law

Work experience policy

FSB national chairman Mike Cherry, said: “Small firms want to be able to take on more young people for work experience, but they need to have the support in place to liaise with schools to ensure both parties can make the most of the experience.

“Since the changes were made in 2012, it has become increasingly difficult for small businesses and young people to arrange work experience.

“More than 40% of small firms already offer work experience either as part of the recruitment process or through their community outreach, but now it’s time that this is taken to the next level.

“Smaller firms are more likely to hire people from harder to reach backgrounds, which is why the reintroduction of work experience would be a valuable leg up for students looking to experience work and small firms looking to plug their recruitment gaps in the future.”

In February, an FSB report, Small Business, Big Heart, called for a one-year national insurance holiday for small firms that employ people furthest from the labour market. The report found that eight in ten (80%) small businesses are actively involved in their community.

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The small business group also called on the government to reintroduce a form of the Percentage Threshold Scheme that was shelved in 2014 and enabled small businesses to reclaim a share of statutory sick pay if their SSP expenditure exceeded a set percentage of their total national insurance bill.

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Rob Moss

Rob Moss is a business journalist with more than 25 years' experience. He has been editor of Personnel Today since 2010. He joined the publication in 2006 as online editor of the award-winning website. Rob specialises in labour market economics, gender diversity and family-friendly working. He has hosted hundreds of webinar and podcasts. Before writing about HR and employment he ran news and feature desks on publications serving the global optical and eyewear market, the UK electrical industry, and energy markets in Asia and the Middle East.

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1 comment

Gerard Liston 13 May 2019 - 8:14 am

The Wolf Report (2011) recognised that young people do not now go into work after Key Stage 4 and so emphasised the importance of post-16 work placements. The Gatsby benchmarks – which now form the foundation for careers guidance in schools – describe ‘experience of the workplace’ (benchmark 6) and ‘multiple encounters with employers’ (benchmark 5).

Let’s not hark back to a time when year 10 students were sent out en masse after the exam period to local employers. The young people had an inconsistent 1-2 week experience at one employer. When the change was made in 2012, Nicky Morgan said there never had been a ‘golden age of careers guidance’ – and that was true.

Forcing schools to implement something that was often a tick-box activity is not a solution. Solutions are more complex, but worth striving for. Embedding meaningful encounters with employers throughout the curriculum, for example, (i.e. benchmarks 4+5) can both bring subject learning to life for students AND given them glimpses of where they could be in their lives beyond school – enabling them to make informed choices.

Comments are closed.

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