Teachers should give employers more feedback on work experience placements to ensure they are a worthwhile experience, the CBI has urged.
The call follows research which found that schools were failing to follow up work experience placements to reinforce a link between the classroom and careers.
The survey of 411 UK pupils aged 15 to 16, by educational charity Edge, found that 70% of those students who had been on a placement thought it had not been managed well by their teachers.
The CBI said employers were committed to providing the work experience that could help young people gain valuable skills, but it warned that too many companies and students were finding it difficult to make placements a worthwhile experience.
Mariska van der Linden, senior policy adviser for employment and skills at the CBI, said: “It is worrying that only a third of students think their work experience was well planned and managed by their schools. We need more support and guidance for employers – and students – to turn the goodwill into a really worthwhile experience for all concerned.”
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More than 100 employers, universities and stakeholder groups have declared they will make work experience a priority for companies and higher education institutions across Europe.
The declaration was signed at the European Work Experience 2005 conference.
