Offering a work experience placement is a simple yet impactful way to support the next generation while bringing fresh ideas and enthusiasm into your organisation. Whether you’re a small business, charity, public sector organisation or large employer, providing workplace experience helps young people develop valuable skills, confidence and career aspirations.
At South Devon College, we work closely with employers to create meaningful opportunities that benefit both students and businesses, offering guidance and support throughout the process to make hosting a student straightforward and rewarding.
Partnering with our vocational college to offer work experience placements is a powerful way to support young people while also bringing real, tangible benefits to your organisation. By hosting a student, you play a vital role in developing the future workforce while gaining fresh perspectives and strengthening your team.
In education we recognise meaningful Work Experience gives opportunities for students to:
Work experience gives you the opportunity to identify and nurture emerging talent early. Many employers use placements as a pathway to recruit apprentices or entry-level staff who already understand their organisation, saving time and recruitment costs.
Students often bring new ideas, up-to-date technical skills, and a fresh outlook. Their enthusiasm and curiosity can inspire innovation and offer different ways of thinking within your team.
Supporting a student enables your staff to build valuable mentoring, leadership and communication skills. This not only supports professional development but can also improve staff morale and engagement.
Hosting a student demonstrates your commitment to supporting your local community. By helping young people gain meaningful workplace experience, you are contributing to the development of a skilled and confident future workforce.
Work experience plays a crucial role in preparing young people for the world of work. Through placements, students can:
“The most valuable thing about my placement was that I learnt a lot and gained confidence and knowledge in a working garage environment.” – Ocean BMW
“The thing I enjoyed most was experiencing different customer needs and knowing how to deal with them.” – Hays Travel
“I enjoyed learning new things and developing skills in an industry that interests me and observing what the staff did. This is the bit I enjoyed the most.” – Secrets Hair & Beauty
Work experience placements will be completed by the following steps:
We use Navigate Learning to manage placement compliance and monitor student progress. The process is straightforward and includes:
Starting in education, I am an experienced partnership and project lead with a strong track record of collaborating with employers, educational organisations and community partners to create meaningful opportunities for young people. In my current role as Work Experience and Placement Lead at South Devon College, I work closely with businesses across a wide range of sectors to develop work experience and industry placement opportunities that are valuable for both learners and employers.
A key aspect of my role is helping employers feel confident, supported and informed throughout the placement process. I understand that businesses can be hesitant to engage due to concerns around time, capacity, safeguarding, health and safety or administrative requirements. By building trusted relationships, providing clear guidance, and creating straightforward processes, I help remove these barriers and enable employers to participate successfully.
I am enthusiastic about creating opportunities that build confidence, skills and aspirations for young people while helping employers contribute to workforce development, social value and community impact. I look forward to collaborating with you to develop practical solutions that support successful partnerships and sustainable outcomes for you and our students.
By working together, we can create meaningful opportunities that benefit both your organisation and the next generation of talent.
If you can offer any of the below, please contact our work experience team.
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