Work Experience

Here at Furness College, we are keen to provide every student the opportunity to experience real life industry experience. We feel it is a vital part of their education and prepares them for working life. Working together we will create a placement that suits both the student and you, the employer.

How does Work Experience/Industry Placement work?

Offering work experience/industry placements are much easier than you might think. Some courses require a one or two week block, others a couple of hours each week for a few months and our T Level courses need for a minimum of 45 days for what we call “Industry Placement”. To learn more about T Levels click here, and to see the variety of courses we offer click here. We use the incredibly user-friendly online platform Unifrog to monitor the placements, and all it would require from you is a few forms to complete via email links no need to sign up to anything or make a profile. The form will give you the option to be added to our Employers Database for future students to use. To learn more about Unifrog click here.

Starting the Placement Process:

• The first step is for students to reach out to you, the employer, to discuss potential work placements. This initial conversation allows students to express their learning goals for the experience, while you gain valuable insights into their skill level and what they can contribute to your team.
• Once we’ve established a good fit, we’ll handle the formalities. We’ll simply need copies of your existing Employer Liability Insurance (ensuring it covers work placements), Health and Safety documentation, and Risk Assessments. These are likely documents you already have on hand! We’ll also obtain parent/carer consent for the student’s participation.
• With everything in place and a schedule agreed upon, the placement can begin! Throughout the experience, we’ll conduct regular check-ins with the student, the frequency depending on the placement duration. Finally, a brief evaluation will be conducted to gather your feedback on the student’s performance.

Benefits for Businesses

Businesses also gain from work experience:

• Meet future talent: Connect with potential future employees and get fresh ideas from a young perspective.
• Develop staff skills: Supervising and training students provide opportunities for current staff to hone their management skills.
• Gain an extra pair of hands: Students can contribute meaningfully to ongoing projects.

And much more!

Can you Support our Students?

Empower the next generation! Offer students meaningful work placements in your business, no matter what industry you’re in. We would love to hear from you! Please contact our Work Experience Coordinators:

Matthew Hodgson: Matthew.hodgson@furness.ac.uk

Julie Burns: Julie.burns@furness.ac.uk

Or call Furness College Student Services on 01229 825017