Work experience for kids

4 Jul 2009

Quote by kentswingers777
Mrs777's Daughter is actually off for seven weeks minus one day. There is a bakers day thrown in and also as she will be in her final year there, they are the last ones to go back. The first years go back one day then the second and third years, and finally year 11 students. Does that answer your question Northwest??
Nothing wrong with my facts in this instance!

So it's one year group that has 4 days over 6 weeks, not the school. Thank you for explaining that.
You got a touch of heatstroke? wink

Did I mention schools? I was talking about the ammount of time the kids have off, on top of the time those that opt out of work experience get.
One year group ( which in case you had not noticed )was the only year group I thought we was talking about will have 6 weeks and four days off plus......wait for it.....in some cases a further 2 weeks if they opt out. That is 8 weeks and four days off.
I thought I already said this. dunno

Yes, you mentioned schools:

Quote by kentswingers777
Sounds like he has a fantastic time Varca. There are obviously some great placements out there.
I could not believe though that schools do not provide any alternative for those that do not go, or the ones that drop out.
This right on top of what is it...seven weeks summer holiday? So some kids are allowed to doss for two weeks, then go back for a week or two, and then have seven weeks off. Which means that in a space of 11 weeks some kids are allowed 9 weeks off. That is over two months at an important time in their lives of working towards GCSE grades.
What a lot of time to simply doss wonder so many leave school with very little. That is an obscene ammount of time to not be at school.
A kid should be MADE to do work experience and if they do not want to do it, or drop out then they should be forced to attend school.
What I would like to know is in those two weeks of work experience what are those teachers doing? They have no year 10 lessons to do and then they also go back for two weeks and then off for a further seven.
I bloody wish my business could operate like that, I could spend me days walking the golf course, or blasting on me bike.

Sounds as if Mrs. K's daughter is at a poorly organised school to me. The work experience programme run by my kid's school was very well organised - there was no option to drop out.
Oh, and the teachers of Year 10 children will teach other year groups as well as the other work they have to do.

4 Jul 2009

Quote by essex34m

If you're good at something, don't do it for free. :idea:
That's my view on Work Experience, if a person works why should they work for nothing
If it's about real-life experience then shouldn't the School Child learn the reward for work is Cash Money Â£ :idea:

So with the above in mind, where does volunteer work fit into the picture?
Well the majority of Voluntary Work now comes with NVQ Qualification for example.
Therefore a person gives free time but earns something that will get them the skills to get that Â£ Money in paid employment. What's 2 Weeks going to give anyone rolleyes

4 Jul 2009

Quote by noladreams
...If a placement broke down then the pupil would return to school and spend the rest of the time there.

If I was a parent that's what my child would do for 2 Weeks, stay in School.
They will have a lifetime of either being in employment, looking or being forced into it.
Let them enjoy themselves instead of this waste of unpaid time.
I would rather have School Children having 2 Weeks of Cookery Lessons with a focus on:
cheap to buy ingredients that are easy to make meals that are both tasty & importantly healthy.
This could save lives & billions on the NHS Budget.
Or....

4 Jul 2009

In locations where Crime is high get them into a program to see the reality of Crime especially around Illegal Drugs.
Take them into Prisons, let them meet ex-con's that are reformed, the Family's who's lives have been destroyed, Medical Experts etc.
This idea would work especially in Liverpool, my Home Town & place of residence.
It might make them think twice when taking that pill when clubbing as they would realize it might contain something that could wreck their internal organs for life :idea: confused

Again saving lives along with the nation's Â£ in terms of Police, Prisons & NHS.
Even focus on the Binge Drinking. Better things can be achieved in 2 Weeks away from the Classroom than Work Experience.

4 Jul 2009

I did work experience from about 14 yrs old, for my dad!
If I wanted a new bike/video game/clothes I would have to go to his yard on a saturday and wash his lorries!! Chatting to him a few years ago about it, he said on mondays he used to have to wash the lorries again as I had done such a bad job, but he said it taught me the work ethic and that in life if you want something, you work for it.
Stuck with me ever since!

4 Jul 2009

Quote by Wunderhorse

If you're good at something, don't do it for free. :idea:
That's my view on Work Experience, if a person works why should they work for nothing
If it's about real-life experience then shouldn't the School Child learn the reward for work is Cash Money Â£ :idea:

So with the above in mind, where does volunteer work fit into the picture?
Well the majority of Voluntary Work now comes with NVQ Qualification for example.
Therefore a person gives free time but earns something that will get them the skills to get that Â£ Money in paid employment. What's 2 Weeks going to give anyone rolleyes

None of the voluntary work I've done or do at the moment comes with any sort of qualification. I don't earn anything from it, hence it's voluntary! wink

4 Jul 2009

Quote by browning
I did work experience from about 14 yrs old, for my dad!
If I wanted a new bike/video game/clothes I would have to go to his yard on a saturday and wash his lorries!! Chatting to him a few years ago about it, he said on mondays he used to have to wash the lorries again as I had done such a bad job, but he said it taught me the work ethic and that in life if you want something, you work for it.
Stuck with me ever since!

I think I haven't made my point clear, am sorry.
Just realized that I should have done this.
1. browning's above point proves the work vs. reward argument perfectly. A person does a job for a reward thus the ethic of work is learnt.
2. If an Adult does Voluntary Work they do it out of their OWN free will & get a reward from this in terms of personal gain / happiness.

4 Jul 2009

Quote by Dirtygirly

If you're good at something, don't do it for free. :idea:
That's my view on Work Experience, if a person works why should they work for nothing
If it's about real-life experience then shouldn't the School Child learn the reward for work is Cash Money Â£ :idea:

So with the above in mind, where does volunteer work fit into the picture?
Well the majority of Voluntary Work now comes with NVQ Qualification for example.
Therefore a person gives free time but earns something that will get them the skills to get that Â£ Money in paid employment. What's 2 Weeks going to give anyone rolleyes

None of the voluntary work I've done or do at the moment comes with any sort of qualification. I don't earn anything from it, hence it's voluntary! wink

Some volunteer bureau's deliver courses for volunteers who have found volunteering though them or the organisation they are with are a member of the V.B.
All volunteers we had at my work place could attend in house and other training relevant to the organisation.
For young people there are V projects - where they can volunteers and gain experience and qualifications depending on the sort of V project. Tho, some of these v projects maybe coming to an end now as the funding was only for so long.
I was lucky enough to take part in training as a volunteer and eventually became a paid trainer for the organisation delivering the very same training I participated in.

4 Jul 2009

Now what am against is forcing all Children to do this without Â£ as a reward.
It should be up to that Child if they wish to do it or not. If they don't then they stay in School doing lessons with Pupils their own age.
Work Experience is a joke unless it's paid.
I've given two better examples what could be achivied in these two weeks away from the Classroom & they could save lives & Billions for the nation.

5 Jul 2009

Quote by kentswingers777

...seven weeks summer holiday? So some kids are allowed to doss for two weeks, then go back for a week or two, and then have seven weeks off. Which means that in a space of 11 weeks some kids are allowed 9 weeks off. That is over two months at an important time in their lives of working towards GCSE grades.
What a lot of time to simply doss wonder so many leave school with very little. That is an obscene ammount of time to not be at school.

So Mrs777's daughter just dosses about with her 7 weeks off ? Do you not think parents/relations should be in some part responsible for their childs learning. Maybe rather than ranting you could spend some time with this young lady and help her work out a revision timetable for her to help her use her 7 weeks wisely. Or send her to summer school if 7 weeks is too long without learning.
GCSEs are hardly the most important thing in their lives .... You say in the next sentance 'a kid' ... I think we sometimes forget that they are kids. The way the we are at the moment we are working until 65, maybe later in these childrens lifetimes. They will have enough pressure once they start uni/work. I know and totally agree that a good education and exam results will give you a good start but it is not the end of the world having 6/7 weeks off in the summer, let them enjoy it, once they start working they wont get that again (even if they are teachers)
I find that comment bloody offensive!
I may " rant " as you so aptly put it but...you do not have a clue what we do or do not do with her, in the holidays. Your just making wild assumptions indicating we do nothing.
We do lots for your information, hence why she is in the top classes for ALL her subjects, and at the end of this school term voting will take place to elect a new head girl for year 11. She is favorite to get this.
So do excuse me but we do lots with her, both with her school work and other activities.
Do excuse me if I have taken your comments out of context, but that is exactly how I read them.
Your excused - not taken out of context at all.

5 Jul 2009

Quote by Wunderhorse
Now what am against is forcing all Children to do this without Â£ as a reward.
It should be up to that Child if they wish to do it or not. If they don't then they stay in School doing lessons with Pupils their own age.
Work Experience is a joke unless it's paid.
I've given two better examples what could be achivied in these two weeks away from the Classroom & they could save lives & Billions for the nation.

Hmm, so telling kids to eat less fat, exercise more and don't do drugs, will save billions for the nation? I thought schools already did this several times over?
Whereas potentially setting them up for a lucrative, productive career, in an area of real interest and motivation to the child and giving them real experience of life outside of school, how it works and the roles they'd be expected to undertake, is somehow worthless without financial reward?
Work experience is NOT work. It is an experience of work. Yes the child may experience doing a bit of the job they want to do, but they are in no way going to be Editor of the newspaper, flying the plane or telling Rafa Benitez to put his feet up for two weeks while she takes care of the managerial side of the club and you won't see an episode of "The Apprentice" with Sir Alan Sugar replaced by a 15 year old. It is about giving the child an understanding of the working world in an area of work they are interested in. You can't put a monetary value on that. The thing is, it works, if you love work experience then you know it is the thing for you, if you hated it, then you will know why and maybe be able to identify a more suitable career path to follow, or change how you behave. It is the experience that is invaluable, not the work. It is the experience the child needs, not the money.
I also think it is a dangerous precedent to set to say to a child "everything of value in terms of work must be paid, otherwise it's a waste of time" I can think of a few volunteers who'd take umbridge with that.
How would the pay work? Say little Brainbox Johnny want's to go work in a Lawyers office, whereas Dennis is helping his dad labouring for a builder. Does little Johnny get Â£200 per day, whereas Dennis Â£20 a day? Both earn the same? Well, where is the value in that? How unrepresentative of their respective careers is that?
Would it not be the case then that kids who wanted work experience, would not choose the profession they were interested in, as if money was the sole motivation, then they'd just choose the work experience that paid best? Who wins in that situation? Nobody. The businesses get kids with no interest in what they do, simply there to earn a few quid that week, the kids get no valuable experience that can serve them in later life other than the notion, well if you don't pay me, I don't have to do it.
Work experience can be a very useful way to help a child make a decision about their future. That is reward enough. The only joke about work experience is people's attitudes to it, and the notion that unless it is paid, it is worthless. Many kids may have that attitude, but it doesn't mean they are right.
I also worry that the message "You can work if you want to, but you don't have to..." sends out entirely the wrong message if we are purporting to fight this "claimant culture" that is endemic in society, which IS indisputably costing us billions, and who must have all the time in the world to eat healthily and do or not do drugs if they choose to do so, knowing someone else will foot the bill.
(In Edit : Not saying everyone claiming benefits does this of course, I am more concerned about the message that children get from the notion that unless they are paid for what they do,it is worthless and the fact that they don't need to work as there is always an alternative)

5 Jul 2009

Quote by Ms_Whips
then they also go back for two weeks and then off for a further seven.
I bloody wish my business could operate like that, I could spend me days walking the golf course, or blasting on me bike.

If you inflate your charges like you inflate your 'facts' maybe you could. What school is it that has a 7 week summer break? When my kids were at high school they had a 6 week break, along with the rest of the country I would think. confused

my son has a full 7 weeks off this year, as does the whole school. it's not the first time this has happened either. i'm not saying the teachers get all this time off but to be honest it does gripe me that i can't take my son out of school for one day when the weather is good so we can have a weekend break. but the teachers can dish out teacher training days at last minute like ours have done! why should they do it in the holidays like we have to. they get enough paid time as far as i'm concerned without kids having even more time off.
it seems to be becoming the norm for our school to have seven weeks off. year tens start the school year and do virtually bugger all before going out on work experience.
whips
It is funny you know whips. When I made that comment Northwest accused me of.....what was it?
I bet your above comment which I had made earlier will not be replied to in the same way mine was.
Or are they going to prove me wrong?
I do not think for a second that teachers spend that two weeks doing all the things that were mentioned. They have a further seven weeks to do that.
Still this is NOT a thread about that.
Yes as someone said earlier, mrs777's Daughters school may not be the norm but....I thought that work experience WAS part of the National Currriculum, and if that is the case is part of that childs education.
Why should some be able to skip it and have all that extra time off. How much time is that again??

5 Jul 2009

Res....I took this snipet from your above post..
" Work experience can be a very useful way to help a child make a decision about their future. That is reward enough. The only joke about work experience is people's attitudes to it, and the notion that unless it is paid, it is worthless. Many kids may have that attitude, but it doesn't mean they are right ".
Well mrs777's Daughter wants to be a teacher, and a very worthwhile career too.
Her experience is working in that enviroment. She is loving it and cannot wait for the next day to arrive, when she has finished that day.
She has learnt if nothing else what it is to work a full day, under those conditions. She comes in and is tired and appreciates now that we both work, and then have to come in and do dinner and all that.
It has opened her eyes to many things and had made her realise, that teaching is where she wants to be. So on that basis it has worked wonders for her, and she still has a week left to do.
She is also angry that some people she knows have stopped their experience. Her attitude is if I do it then so should everyone else.
I am very proud of her attitude and her dedication in generaL. Must have been something we have done to have a child like this.
We care what she does and where she goes. We encourage her constantly, and in the four years at secondary school she has missed just THREE days, and they were through genuine illness.
I am still seething at another persons posting but...I know we have done over and above what most do and we ARE reaping the rewards of that right now.
NO it should NOT be paid work, it should make kids realise that not everything comes with a price tag, and a lot of things have to be EARNED.
With some kids attitudes they will no doubt be heading straight for the dole office, and is it any wonder?

5 Jul 2009

Having five children of my own, ( one grown up and two teenagers included), I am of the belief that the best possible work experience project that could be introduced is National Service. Although I must admit I'd feel sorry for the officers and nco's, especially in the army.

5 Jul 2009

Quote by BrightonGeezer
Having five children of my own, ( one grown up and two teenagers included), I am of the belief that the best possible work experience project that could be introduced is National Service. Although I must admit I'd feel sorry for the officers and nco's, especially in the army.

I would strongly disagree with the above, but a change in concept is something I would agree with.
The modern military is a lot more hi-tech than it used to be, the training required is a lot more involving, add to that the decimation of the armed forces by the Government, through overstretching the resources they are already reducing, then National Service in the traditional sense is, IMO unworkable.
However, I did say as a concept I agree with it, then why not create a scheme where we the public benefit. Creation and maintenance of public leaisure areas, such as parks, 'clean up teams' to clear litter, graffiti etc.
Yes, I know all this is the councils responsibility, but by having the 'Community Service' then we all benefit, and those that are involved in performing the tasks and duties, could well create a suitable amount of pride in their work and surroundings.

5 Jul 2009

That would be a good topic to discuss Essex in a new thread....what do you think?
Over to you.

5 Jul 2009

I was involved with some kids doing work experience and we got a review of their responses. They had a sort of interview after the experience to see how they got on.
One lad when asked "What did you find out about work?". His answer was "I don't like it".
I think there might have been a missed opportunity there - he certainly left with every intention of getting on the handouts as soon as possible. Not sure how his family felt about that - we (blue chip, international company) were not at all impressed.
I should point out - others really enjoyed it and had a good time in tehir respective areas (design, manufacturing, general office, workshop) so I don't think it was the experience that didn't suit him - just the concept of working.

5 Jul 2009

when my daughter did hers last year ( she wants to be a midwife ), she of her own back and with some help from her aunt ( who runs a staff agency and supplies some staff to the local hospital ) managed to get 2 weeks in the maternity unit, she did everything (apart from deliver a baby biggrin

) from home visits to cleaning newborns etc, she loved every minute and got some good advice about the way forward, other friends of hers sorted there own out and got 2 weeeks doing what they wanted as well, but she had a few friends that ended up doing something that they didnt want to and hated every minute of it, but they just let the school find that for them,

5 Jul 2009

Quote by essex34m
Having five children of my own, ( one grown up and two teenagers included), I am of the belief that the best possible work experience project that could be introduced is National Service. Although I must admit I'd feel sorry for the officers and nco's, especially in the army.

I would strongly disagree with the above, but a change in concept is something I would agree with.
The modern military is a lot more hi-tech than it used to be, the training required is a lot more involving, add to that the decimation of the armed forces by the Government, through overstretching the resources they are already reducing, then National Service in the traditional sense is, IMO unworkable.
However, I did say as a concept I agree with it, then why not create a scheme where we the public benefit. Creation and maintenance of public leaisure areas, such as parks, 'clean up teams' to clear litter, graffiti etc.
Yes, I know all this is the councils responsibility, but by having the 'Community Service' then we all benefit, and those that are involved in performing the tasks and duties, could well create a suitable amount of pride in their work and surroundings.
I know where you are coming from, and to an extent I agree. But I was recently talking to a chap who did national service the last time we had it. He had left school with no qualifications and went straight to what he said was then called the labour exchange. He was interviewed and because he said the only interest he had was in animals he was sent to the Veterinary Core attached to Kings Troop. He spent most of his time in London spaying cats and dogs, delivering foals etc. He now makes a good living as the owner of the surgery he started work in after he left the army.
His attitude is that he could have done what children are doing today, had he been given the opportunity. He knows he would have loved to at the time but is convinced he would be a penniless pensioner now if he hadn't done national service. He also told me that there are just as many menial tasks that need doing in the armed services at home and abroad, there will always be spuds to peel, machines to clean, and things that require a lick of paint.
And I'm told there is no better cure for a lazy teenager than a frustrated staff sergeant.

7 Jul 2009

My son started his work experience yesterday, he wasnt really sure what he wanted to do but as he is looking to have a career in some sort of IT proffesion we decided to get him into an IT department.
Anyway after day 1 and being told to be there at 8am he then waited 45 minutes for someone to come and get him ( pissed him off I think), they gave him sone jobs to do throughout the day and he came home and said " well that was crap"
I explained that they had to gage what level he was at before letting him loose on their IT systems but he feels that he know's it all already and should be able to get on with the real work.
I really do think he will learn alot from work experience, already he has seen a work environment and hopefully it will see which direction he would like his career to go.