Offering a work placement
At the end of the six week programme, all SPEAR students that have fulfilled the appropriate attendance and punctuality requirements are offered the opportunity to attend a 1-2 week work placement in the industry they have identified as being of interest during the course.
This experience provides students with valuable experience, knowledge of their chosen industry, and a highlight to what might otherwise a be a rather thin CV. Not only that, work placements raise the students' sights and give them a vision of what they might achieve.
This experience is extremely valuable to the students. In one instance, a student was offered a place at university on the back of the work experience he had undertaken while on SPEAR. In another, a student was offered her dream job by her host company and she continues to work and flourish there.
As the course grows, the challenge of finding relevant and exciting placements intensifies for the SPEAR team. We are reliant on the generosity of organisations to support this important work, and give a young person an opportunity they might not otherwise receive.
What's involved?
Each placement lasts between one and two weeks and takes place at the end of each SPEAR programme.
Before the placement
You will receive a brief from the SPEAR team about the strengths and weaknesses of your student and highlighting areas of interest.
The placement
The nature of the placements varies considerably and the structure of the time a student spends at his or her placement is left to the discretion of the employer. Having said that, employers are encouraged to plan the week carefully to ensure that the student is fully occupied at all times in tasks at a variety of levels from photocopying to creative input or attending meetings.
The most successful placements assign the students a clear task for the week. For example, one company challenged their student to research the buying behaviour of 18-25 year olds and asked the student to report back their findings to the team at the end of the week. This requires a mixture of supervised briefing and allowing the student to get on with their own tasks.
SPEAR will provide you with a dedicated point of contact for the duration of your work placement in order to ensure you are put to the minimum of inconvenience and always provided with the information you need.
What you can expect?
The students that we put forward for work placements demonstrate an ongoing commitment to learning and development and have shown a positive attitude to making changes in their lives. However, it is important to note that the students are still learning to put their new found skills into practice, and may struggle to be consistent in some areas, such as punctuality.
If for any reason the student that you accommodate is inappropriate for the organisation or fails to meet your expectations, SPEAR will take responsibility for removing the student from the scheme.
What's in it for you? Offering a work placement to a SPEAR student undoubtedly demands sacrifices in terms of the time and preparation involved. However, there are some tangible benefits to you as a company:
- Practical help from a motivated young person that is keen to learn
- An opportunity to be involved in sustainable development for the local community influencing both the culture of your environment and your organisation
- While it is not our expectation, there may be occasions when the match is significant enough to provide you with a new employee!
If you would like to be involved in this exciting venture by taking part in the work placement scheme or would like to know more, please contact the SPEAR team on 020 8748 5824 or email info@spearcourse.org