Work Experience

Work Experience is an important opportunity for young people to gain valuable skills and experience in the work place, skills that they can take forward and utilise within their future studies and careers.

Work Experience is not just about adding to a CV, it is the perfect opportunity to carry out tasks or duties in the role of an employee and learn valuable work skills such as punctuality, communication, commitment and team work.

FIVE REASONS WHY WORK EXPERIENCE IS SO VALUABLE

It introduces students to the world of work. Students learn roles within a business, become workplace savvy, and work with new people. Vitally, it enhances the skills they need to thrive in the workplace of the future.

Taking part and completing a work experience placement shows commitment and drive. Taking part in work experience demonstrates motivation that colleges and employers value greatly.

It is the best way to get a real sense of a work place environment, speaking to employees and taking the opportunity to ask questions.

It helps students identify their own skills, strengths and weaknesses and perhaps highlight areas for improvement.

An employer may be so impressed with a student's attitude that they may make an offer of a part time job or apprenticeship when they leave school

FIVE REASONS TO ASK US TO ORGANISE YOUR PLACEMENTS

We have an easy to use bespoke online management system (WebWex) at your fingertips. This reduces your administration time and printing costs.
WebWex is also a point of information for parents and students so they can view and print details of jobs and placements.
Our free and easy to use work experience diary is designed to encourage and motivate students prior to and during their placement.
We have different programmes to suit the needs of students and the school' budget.
Work experience contributes to Gatsby Benchmarks 5 & 6, and as a company we can help you achieve all others too.

Health & Safety / Risk Assessment

All employers are appraised regarding Health & Safety in-line with HSE guidance by experienced and qualified staff. We check that all the necessary arrangements are in place for a safe working environment…

risk assessment information is displayed on each student's job description,
these assessments take account of students' lack of experience/maturity,
we check that each employer has the proper insurance in-place for the duration of each placement.

Format

We have thousands of businesses that work with us to provide work experience opportunities; we then offer these to schools in several different formats…

Self-placements

Students source their own placements as they will in the future, then Our Futures undertake the administration, insurance and health & safety appraisals. These are by far the best type of placement because the student develops a vital skills for life, is more invested in the placement, and the business can place more confidence in the student.

Recruited

Same as Self-placements but we find a range of placements so that the school co-ordinator can allocate students with appropriate interests and abilities to them.

Extended

Some students respond better, and gain more from working for a longer period, maybe 1 day per week for a couple of months or even the whole school year.

Included in our service for Education Partners

A planning meeting with Our Futures.
One designated, very experienced and professional Our Futures Co-ordinator to liaise with throughout the process; just a phonecall or email away.
2 Assemblies for your year group (a launch assembly at the beginning of the process and a preparation assembly approximately 6 weeks before the students start work)
An online management system that allows you to monitor your placements in real-time and book students in where applicable.
Templates for the resources you need, e.g. bespoke school self-placement form, parent consent form, a free downloadable work experience diary.
Online portals for students and parents to input consent, view details, and access resources.
Regular communication with employers.
All students receive a certificate at the end of a successful placement.
Evaluation resources.

Benefits

Our bespoke online WebWex management system is designed to cut down on administration time within school, the printing costs schools incur and as a point of information for parents and students.
Our Employers also have their own online management system that allows information regarding students to be shared in a safe and secure manner.
Our prices remain very competitive (prices start at £24 per placement) and we provide the online WebWex Portal at no extra cost.

What our customers say

‘ Our Futures provide an excellent service to run a week long work experience programme for our Y12 students. Caron is always available to answer any queries or questions and ensures we meet our deadlines. The WebWex is a great system for checking and seeing where we are up to with confirmed placements and printing off the job descriptions. The assemblies Our Futures deliver at the beginning and end of the programme prepares the students on what to expect whilst on placement. We have worked with Our Futures for more than 10 years now and can't fault its' professional and friendly service.’
Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Trafford.

‘I would like to say a massive thank you to my Our Futures co-ordinator for her commitment and dedication in supporting the work experience. Her quick response and getting all my answers has made the whole task to be a smooth process. Her support is much appreciated.’

‘Also, thank you for helping me deal with my work experience queries, delivering the work experience assemblies in helping to prepare the students. Everyone has been very helpful and the teamwork at Our futures is great!’
Levenshulme High School for Girls, Manchester.

‘To say this was our first time using Our Futures, we found the systems easy to use, the support more than adequate and the placements well chosen.’
Brownhill Learning Centre, Rochdale.

‘Fantastic service thank you for all your help. Always so efficient and answers any queries very quickly. The assemblies were delivered really well and definitely added value.’
Urmston Grammar School, Trafford.

‘A very smooth experience with plenty of support where needed.’
Marple Hall School, Stockport.

Evaluation

We are committed to continually improving our systems and processes and our customer feedback plays a crucial part in this. We always conduct an evaluation at the end of each service and below are just a few of our results…

95% Overall service provided from Our Futures.
97% Level of communication with your Our Futures work experience coordinator.
98% Knowledge and expertise of your Our Futures work experience coordinator.
92% Assemblies Our Futures delivered assisted with preparing students for their work experience.