Some employers ditch work experience over red tape
AN INITIATIVE to secure the safety of school pupils on work experience placements appears to have backfired, with employers seemingly backing out of the scheme.
This summer GWEX, Guernsey Works Experience, part of Careers Guernsey, introduced new rules requiring staff carrying students under-18 in vehicles for work to have a DBS clearance check, which costs £20.
It also said that young people would not be placed with single tradesmen businesses and that pupils should not be left one-to-one with a member of staff.
‘The current guidance used by schools to keep students safe is applied where appropriate for those placed on work experience,’ said Sarah Stonebridge, head of careers.
‘There have always been guidelines in place for ensuring work experience placements are as safe as possible for the students taking them up.
‘These are reviewed and updated regularly against the latest policy.
‘The work experience policy was reviewed earlier this year and updated against current Education safeguarding guidance.’
She said that there had been no specific incident to spark the new advice.
But the new guidance has caused issues with employers. Some are considering turning their backs on the scheme or have limited opportunities to those with their own transport.
‘Careers Guernsey are noticing that it is getting more difficult to place students if there are instances when they may be required to travel unsupervised one-to-one in a vehicle,’ Ms Stonebridge said.
‘We are in the process of seeking further advice about what is appropriate for employers when taking students on work experience, while ensuring the requirements to keep children safe remains the priority.
‘We support the future workforce and their experiences of workplaces while in education to inspire and develop skills. Our partnerships with employers is key to this and we are grateful to the hundreds of employers who offer work experience placements each year.’
The construction sector is understood to have been particularly impacted by the new rules.
‘Certainly, this makes us want to think twice if we can really be bothered with even more red tape. There always seems more and more and more all the time, and work experience is not something we have to do,’ said stonemason Lance Vaudin.
More than 500 young people from Year 10, Year 11 and post-16 do work experience placements each year.
