Handbook for
Employers
July 2014 – Pilot Project
Version 1.2
Employer handbook for pilot
Contents
1. Why workinsight.org
2. Introduction to the pilot
3. Pilot process
- Flowchart
4. Designing your Insight
5. Activities Toolkit
6. Preparing for your Insight
7. Building your profile and posting your Insight
8. Insight template
9. What if’s…
10. Sample risk assessment form
11. Insight booking form
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1.
Why workinsight.org?
The workinsight.org model has evolved from both the professional experience and
the personal experience of the team and their teenage children. We believe that
every young person should have access to multiple work place experiences without
traditional selection processes that consciously, or unconsciously, result in barriers to
entry based on socio-economic background, historic academic record, race, gender,
disability, sexuality, religion or even just questionable fashion sense.
Young people deserve work place experiences to enable them to make better
informed decisions about their choices of qualifications, internships, employment,
careers, training, education or apprenticeships. There is strong evidence that the
employment outcomes of those that have had access to the work place and
employers more than once is significantly enhanced. Access to the work place
should not just be available to those with the right support, school or social networks.
Social mobility has stagnated and talent is not being allowed to find its root and
blossom. Aspiration and access needs to be increased to provide opportunity for all.
Traditional work experience is scarce, costly, selective and time consuming. Many
schemes provide limited value and impact for young people with diminishing returns
the longer they go on. They are typically designed by and for employers. The
resource requirements and lack of connections make it difficult for smaller employers
to arrange schemes or liaise with schools and colleges, resulting in most schemes
being offered by large enterprises in a limited number of locations. Policy is driving
rapidly increasing demand for work experience, yet there is no sign of any growth in
the supply. This has to change. We believe that structured, bite-sized experiences
(or ‘Insights’) are the only way to increase supply and enable employers of all sizes from a local butcher to a FTSE-100 company - to get involved and to provide
individuals with the possibility of multiple and incredibly valuable experiences.
Many employers are keen to provide access to their work place to educate young
people about the many opportunities within the sector in which they operate and to
spot talent. Employers have an obligation to society and especially to their local
communities to put something back and raise aspirations and we believe that an
innovative, measurable and high quality service provided by a charity is something
that employers of all sizes will contribute towards on a per head basis within their
own budget to ensure its sustainability. We believe that the power of software can be
used to digitise the process by developing a platform that will simply and effectively
bring employers and young people together securely whilst providing data and
feedback for all parties.
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Digitisation, combined with the eventual participation of the vast majority of schools,
colleges and employers, will transform access to work place experience enabling
significant scale to raise the aspirations of tens of thousands of young people
nationally.
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2.
What is workinsight.org?
Welcome to the workinsight.org pilot project connecting 14-19 year old students via
their school or college with local employers of all sizes providing short yet informative
work place Insights.
The focus of the pilot is to test a paper based (analogue) version of the eventual fully
automated digital platform that is to be developed, which will provide access to short
(maximum) one day localised Insights to 14-19 year old students, with a view to
encouraging on going education and training and enhancing further career
aspirations. The allocation of work insights are made purely based on student
preference and location. Traditional employer selection criteria will not be part of the
process. Therefore a key driver of this pilot is for all students involved to have fair
and equal access to work Insights regardless of race, gender, faith, social class, or
academic ability.
The pilot will be conducted on a small scale. You will be part of a group of partner
employers, schools and colleges from Central London. We will be using a paper
based system to describe and advertise Insights, create student profiles, allocate
students to Insights and confirm bookings. Feedback will be collected from you, the
students and schools involved at key points to inform the review and evaluation of
the model. Once the pilot is complete the model will be amended as necessary and
transferred to a web based, automated and scalable digital platform.
What are the benefits for you?
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Outsourced and automated model - enables employers to offer work
experience Insights and put something back with the hassle taken out
Solution to historically poor interaction and understanding between
schools, colleges and students – a barrier to the scalability of work
experience is the lack of effective partnerships between employers and
schools and colleges
Pay-as-you-go contribution model – workinsight.org provides a service and
an opportunity to contribute to a sustainable financial model through
contributions made on a per head basis
Aggregated data and dashboards will allow companies to provide accurate
reporting for Corporate Social Responsibility budgets as well as detailed
reporting on what was delivered.
Less resource needed – Insights do not require the usual resource
commitment of weekly/fortnightly placements or internships.
Spot future talent – opportunity to recruit future interns, apprentices or
employees.
Flexible – insights can be spread throughout the year, rather than having
to deal with an overload of requests from schools to fit in a short window.
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Support from workinsight.org around designing and delivering insights, as
well as all the legal requirements around working with schools and
colleges.
Raising profiles – by demonstrating that a business is socially responsible,
it will provide benefits in terms of the business brand and future
recruitment.
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About us
We are developing a simple, scalable and national cloud-based digital platform
aiming to automate processes and simplify the interaction between schools, colleges
and employers. Our Insights will provide a window into careers, employment and the
work place to empower young people to make better informed decisions about their
future. Students are offered one or more of these introductions into the world of
work, adding real value to their careers journey
workinsight.org is not-for-profit and is structured as a Charitable Incorporated
Organisation (CIO). We are in the process of registering the CIO as a charity with
the Charity Commission. Our aim is to provide occupational and educational and
opportunities for all regardless of an individual’s socio-economic or personal
disadvantage, their academic ability, race, gender, disability, sexuality or religion.
Contact details
If you have any questions about anything in this handbook, please contact:
Sam Antill sam@workinsight.org (Chief Executive). All account registrations, and
booking information should be sent to Sam Antill.
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3. Pilot process
A summarised version of the pilot process is as follows:
Register with workinsight.org.uk
Verification process takes place
Account set up
Design Insight/s - think about
when/content/how often/how many
students you want to take
Complete profile and Insight template
Send to workinsight.org for feedback and
amend if necessary
Send final templates and completed
booking forms to workinsight.org
Students book onto workinsight and
employer is sent attendee details (e.g
student profile)
On the day: Student arrives at premises,
WI coordinator confirms arrival with
workinsight.org, Insight delivered
Afterwards: workinsight.org seeks
feedback and passes onto employer,
donation made to workinsight.org
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4.
Designing your Insight
What should you include?
The design of your Insight programme will largely depend on the nature of your
working environment and resource available but Insights must be planned with the
student in mind, ensuring that you give them experiences that are as close to the job
roles you are teaching them about as possible.
Insights should:
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Include real work activities
Include an introduction to the organisation and the business sector (history,
products, services, cultures and values, how the company is structured,
relevant health and safety info)
Ensure that students are treated like employees
Give students real pressures to deliver (where practical)
Provide tours of premises (where practical)
Link experiences with student’s studies
Provide career path guidance and real examples of career development
Always give students a clear outline of requirements and expectations
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5.
Activities toolkit
Here are some ideas to help you fill a student’s day with a few tasks that will open
their eyes to the realities of the workplace. Depending on the resources available to
you and your working environment you could mix and match from some of the
examples of activities below, or add your own.
Tour of offices or other premises (e.g. warehouse or factory floor)
This will probably be one of the first things you will want to do to give students a real
feel of the working environment, alongside any important health and safety
information you need to give.
Context
Explanation of the development of the sector and its products and services and
where the business fits into it.
Every day events – Individual or small groups
The normal parts of the working day that we take for granted like team meetings and
dealing with clients are probably completely new for students. You could ask them to
sit in and observe what is going on and how different people in different roles
behave.
Mini projects – Individual or small groups
These could be run for individuals or groups in the latter part of the Insight when
students have learned something about your organisation. You could pick a range of
products that you produce and ask them to do some research around how you
advertise, suppliers you work with, your competitors etc.
Presentations and skills session – small or large groups
Presentations could be given from a team on their respective job roles, ‘A day in the
Life Of…’ their career path, expectations within the workplace, question and answer
sessions etc. Prepare and deliver the materials with care and enthusiasm!
Speed networking – small or large groups
Let students have access to as many people as possible from your organisation for a
short space of time – they could be recent graduates, middle or senior managers if
you can spare them. Ensure that students are given some time to prepare a set of
questions before they embark on this activity to get the most out of their time with
you.
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Work shadowing - individual
This is a widely used form of work experience activity and very useful, but can be
passive unless used with structured interactive activities.
Customer survey – individual
Give the students a manageable research project. Ask them to speak to some real
customers (if appropriate) or staff. This will help give students a real understanding
of your customers.
Staff consultations – individual
This activity is a great career planning tool. You will need to have a few team
members that are happy to be ‘grilled’ about their career paths. You could ask them
to prepare ‘career boards’ (see activity below) in preparation for this activity.
Students will need to prepare a set of questions and could write up the outcomes of
their interviews afterwards.
Career boards – individual, small or large groups
Access to a computer and the Internet will be useful for this activity. These are
graphical representations which showcase the many routes your career can take e.g.
that you may have achieved a career in History but end up taking another career
path due to work experience, luck, or a complete change of heart. Students pick
someone they admire (either that they have met or that is well known in the
business). They will need:
a. Updated CV – outlining the years that moved from one job to another
and why?
b. Company logo
c. Photographs
i. A photo of them when they were younger (just left school or
started their first job)
ii. Current photo
They will need to find out the answers to the following questions (or similar):
1.
2.
3.
4.
What work experience did you undertake prior to starting your first job?
What valuable insights did you gain from the experience?
How were you able to use / implement them in your first role?
Many individuals have described their early career years as rather chaotic
and muddled
a. Is that something you can relate to?
b. Can you describe what your first jobs entailed?
c. At the time, did you enjoy the work you were doing?
5. What resemblance does what you wanted or expected to be doing in your
working life at this stage in your career have with, say when you were 20
years old?
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6. Were there any particularly critical judgment calls you successfully made
that had a career defining role?
7. How would you rate the importance of certain mentors in your career in
terms of providing inspiration/opportunities/advice on critical career
decisions? From your personal experience, what do you think makes a
good mentor?
Pull out some of the highlights form their career and create the board e.g.
http://www.bitc.org.uk/sites/default/files/stuart_rose_career_board.pdf
Interactive case study workshops – small, large groups
Showcase a range of your job roles. This could be done in:
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‘A Day in the Life of…’
how different roles within the firm interact with each other
product lifecycle
Describe these within case studies, presenting them in an interactive way with your
students ensuring they have opportunities to ask/answer questions/role play some of
the tasks/roles that actually take place.
Panel sessions – small, large groups
This is a great opportunity for students to really get to know more about your
organisation and your employees! You may want to set Q&A themes so students can
prepare relevant questions to prevent a complete free for all. Try and make sure that
everyone participates and that individuals do not dominate the sessions.
Careers guidance activities – individual, small groups
Depending on the resources you have to hand another really valuable input you can
provide is general careers guidance e.g.:
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support around developing a CV
interview techniques
how to write top quality job applications
how to handle tough job interviews
how to seek out the kinds of experiences that universities are looking for
All from an employer’s viewpoint – gold dust!
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6.
Preparing for your Insight
Every business that offers an Insight has to comply with a few rules and make sure
they’re properly insured.
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Do I need to carry out criminal record checks? – From July 2012 providers
are no longer required to carry out enhanced Disclosure and Barring Services
checks on employers/staff supervising young people aged 16-17 on work
experience.
Do I need extra insurance? - Liability insurance covers people on work
experience – provided your insurer is a member of the Association of British
Insurers. For more information got to https://www.abi.org.uk/
What are the risks? - You can use existing arrangement for assessments
and management of risks to young people. However if you have not worked
with young people for a long time, or this is the first time you have worked with
them, it is important to identify the particular needs of the individual and
review risk assessments before they start. A template has been provided at
the end of this toolkit.
Health and Safety – there are very few work activities that young people
cannot do due to Health and Safety law. We will need to check that you have
sufficient risk management arrangements in place and the schools and
colleges that we will be working with may want to see copies of your risk
assessment forms. Any conversations we might have with you could be noted
for reference. The Health and Safety Executive have recently reviewed
guidance to make it easier and less burdensome:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/youngpeople/workexperience/
The government are also reviewing health and safety guidance which is due
to be released soon.
Child protection
Please ensure your planned Insights follow these child protection guidelines:
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Students should not be left alone to work unsupervised
Employees are required by law to declare if they are disqualified from working
with children if placed in any role were this will be required
It is not advisable to structure an insight where one student is working with
one adult where this is not part of their normal working duties
Students should not be placed unsupervised in environments where there is
inappropriate or confidential material
Students should not have unsupervised access to the internet
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7.
Building your profile and posting your Insight
So you have spent days preparing a top quality Insight and you’re ready to compile
the information. Your profile and template is the first thing that students and teachers
will see and needs to be a really engaging summary of what you have planned.
Your profile should include:
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brief history and size of your organisation
customer focused mission statement/what you do
history of work experience you have provided/apprenticeships and quality of
in house training
any work with jobcentre plus, any other relevant stats that showcase your
commitment to the development of employer skills
The Insight template should:
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‘Sell’ the Insight – e.g. how it will strengthen their CV, improve employment
opportunities etc.
State length of Insight, give directions to premises.
Give as much information as possible about what the student will be doing,
using active language to make it interesting.
Say how it provides links to current courses they might be studying at
school/college.
Say how it would benefit/count towards current course requirements e.g. two
days of work experience needs to be completed to pass course.
Could attending the Insight lead onto more substantial experience with your
organisation? e.g. an internship, consideration for an apprenticeship, become
part of an employer network?
Provide quotes from ‘satisfied customers’ once available.
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8. Template
Company Logo
Sample Insight post
Title – Outsourcery, IT services and cloud computing
Ref no. xxx
Sample Insight description:
Open to all 16-18yr olds, our IT services Insight is a five hour course to introduce
participants to the world of IT services and cloud computing. It will include
experience hands-on business simulations and interactive case studies. A chance to
interview Outsourcery’s Co-CEO on his career path; the employment options
Outsourcery and the industry has to offer and the qualifications required.
The session will be packed full of informative and helpful insights about the IT and
cloud Computing sector and Outsourcery’s business. It will cover everything from
security, applications, project management and marketing. You’ll get to speak to a
team of top IT professionals during a panel session.
Who is it for?
For GCSE and A ‘Level students with an interest in the IT or communications sectors
and a passion for business and team working. This insight links to the kinds of topics
studied in modules within Edexcel ICT Single Award and AQA A2 Award.
How will you benefit?
The aim of the session is for you to gain a real ‘hands on’ experience of the IT
services sector and the rapidly growing cloud computing industry, seeing a busy hitech environment in action. Having access to a range of teams in the know will give
you a real insight to what it is like to work in the sector, and their advice on your CV
preparation will be invaluable. As well as all of this, if you impress us on the day, you
may be invited back to one of our apprenticeship recruitment days, and who knows,
you could be the next Outsourcery apprentice!
Where and when?
We are hosting insights on the 14th of each month in our London offices, click here
to book on and to download directions.
xxxx
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9. What ifs…
What happens if a student falls ill during the insight?
The student’s teacher should be contacted so the students can either return to
school, or go home. The teacher is responsible for arranging the collection of the
student.
Do students have more breaks than staff?
You should ensure that students are given regular breaks and should be fitted
around the schedule of the staff coordinating the insight.
What happens if a student doesn’t turn up for their Insight?
If the students fails to turn up at the arranged time, it is your responsibility to notify
Sam Antill at sam@workinsight.org
Who is legally responsible for the student while they are on an
Insight?
You will be responsible for the student while they are at their Insight. You will not be
liable when they are travelling to and from the workplace. As mentioned before you
will need to ensure that your employers’ liability insurance covers students while at
work and that a full risk assessment has been completed. See sample provided.
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10. Risk assessment
Source – http://www.hse.gov.uk/Risk/risk-assessment.htm
All employers must conduct a risk assessment. Employers with five or more employees have to record the significant findings
of their risk assessment.
We have started off the risk assessment for you by including a sample entry for a common hazard to illustrate what is expected (the sample entry is
taken from an office-based business). Look at how this might apply to your business, continue by identifying the hazards that are the real priorities in
your case and complete the table to suit.
You can print and save this template so you can easily review and update the information as and when required. You may find our example risk
assessments a useful guide
( www.hse.gov.uk/risk/casestudies ). Simply choose the example closest to your business.
Organisation name:
What are
the
hazards?
Who might be harmed What are you already doing?
and how?
Slips and
trips
Staff and visitors may
be injured if they trip
over objects or slip on
spillages
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Do you need to do anything
else to manage this risk?
We carry out general good
Better housekeeping is needed
housekeeping. All areas are well lit
in staff kitchen, eg on spills
including stairs. There are no trailing
leads or cables. Staff keep work
areas clear, e.g. no boxes left in
walkways, deliveries stored
immediately, offices cleaned each
evening
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Action by
whom?
Action by Done
when?
All staff,
supervisor
to monitor
01/10/2010 01/10/2010
What are
the
hazards?
Who might be harmed What are you already doing?
and how?
Do you need to do anything
else to manage this risk?
Action by
whom?
Action by Done
when?
Employers with five or more employees must have a written health and safety policy and risk assessment.
It is important you discuss your assessment and proposed actions with staff or their representatives.
You should review your risk assessment if you think it might no longer be valid, e.g. following an accident in the workplace, or if there are any
significant changes to the hazards in your workplace, such as new equipment or work activities.
For further information and to view example risk assessments go to http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/casestudies/
Combined risk assessment and policy template published by the Health and Safety Executive 11/11
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workinsight.org booking form
Employer information
Date form sent to workinsight.org
Company hosting insight
Ref.no from insight template
Name of insight
Numbers of students that can attend
(use following key)
I = (individual) 1
SG = (small group) ≤ 5
LG = (large group) ≤ 10
Student age group insight is suitable for
Date/s/times insight will be run
Employer contact details
Name
Phone
Email
Risk assessment form provided Y/N
School/College information
Name of school registering an interest
School/College contact details
Name
Phone
Email
Risk assessment form required?
No. of students wishing to attend
insight (use following key)
I = (individual) I
SG = (small group) ≤ 5
LG = (large group) ≤ 10
Individual student details
Date of insight they wish to attend (if
more than one date given)
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Name
D.O.B
Teacher contact details/class
Special requirements/health issues
Emergency contact details
Individual student details
Date of insight they wish to attend (if
more than one date given)
Name
D.O.B
Teacher contact details/class
Special requirements/health issues
Emergency contact details
Individual student details
Date of insight they wish to attend (if
more than one date given)
Name
D.O.B
Teacher contact details/class
Special requirements/health issues
Emergency contact details
Guidance for completion:
Employers – You will need to complete this each time you release a different type of
insight. You can use the same form to advertise the same insight but that will be run
on different dates. Please insert as many lines as necessary into the form.
Schools and Colleges – please continue to add rows to compete as many student
details as necessary.
Send to sam@workinsight.org once complete.
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