Experiences of workplaces: Practical ideas from schools and colleges for achieving Gatsby Benchmark 6

This report provides practical insights from Careers Leaders about how to deliver meaningful workplace experiences for young people in secondary schools, colleges and special schools. It is targeted at schools and colleges seeking ideas for how to improve their provision. Schools and colleges have made significant progress over recent years and approximately half of schools and colleges now ensure that the majority of their students have at least one experience of the workplace by the age of 16 and another during sixth form or college. This means that an additional 400K experiences of the workplace are needed each year to ensure that all young people have these opportunities. The Careers & Enterprise Company supports schools, colleges, providers and employers to achieve this aim. We carried out qualitative interviews with Careers Leaders from 28 schools, colleges and special schools that are achieving well on Gatsby Benchmark 6. The interviews explored the models of workplace experiences offered, how they are integrated within career programmes and strategies for overcoming the challenges to ensure that the experiences are meaningful and available to all students.