William Casement: - Learning from Work Experience

An extract from another interesting article from the team at "LinkedIn Pulse". Click on the link to find our more or register for their regular updates:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-casement-a5844739/

Learning from Work Experience

A recent BBC article provides the proof (in case it was needed) that teenagers taught about the world of work are not only more motivated to revise but that this also has a positive knock-on effect on their GCSE results. In a study of c.650 secondary schools, those pupils who had careers sessions with employers had a clearer understanding of the everyday relevance to do with subjects taught in school, and they also gained some invaluable clues as to what skills and qualities should be honed in order to get a firm foothold in the world of work.  

No surprises so far, and there's some other good news:

In order to comply with recent D of E statutory directives secondary schools are having to raise their game when in comes to careers education. In fact, those schools using the Gatsby Benchmarks in order to set the bar find that they are now responsible for providing every pupil with work experience.  This makes excellent sense in theory, but in practice it’s going to take a lot of time and effort on behalf of careers leaders, for gaining regular and worthwhile access to an employer isn’t always easy. If every student in the land is after the same thing the competition is going to get heated, exposure will become limited and the benefits will become diluted. However, employers will be positively disposed to those who have already been primed, and there are ways to enhance what you can bring to the party. There are also ways to make the most of what you learned, for remember what Work Savvy sets out to do:

“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S NOT WORK EXPERIENCE”

  • Work Savvy explains what skills and qualities you need to hone in order to prepare you for the world of work.

  • Work Savvy also gives you advance warning of what to expect from the workplace

  • Work Savvy sheds light on the relevance of subjects that may or may not have been taught at school.

  • Work Savvy explains how to gain value from work experience, to turn it into something useful (commercial awareness) and how to demonstrate this in interview.  

In short, if you’re Work Savvy you’ll understand that work experience can not only start in the classroom but it should conclude there. Schools will do their best to help get you work experience, and Work Savvy can make that experience work for you.