Work experience is great because it lets you see what it will be like in a job, and also gives you really great skills too.

There are lots of ways you can get work experience....

Work placements

These happen when you go into a workplace for 1-2 weeks and get to try out a job, you'll meet people who work there and try out lots of tasks too!

They can also last a little longer and are called Internships - these can be up to a year long!

Visiting workplaces

You can go and see lots of workplaces, this could be where your Mum or Dad work, or a friends parents, but you can also arrange for a tour around some places too.  Isn't that cool?

Lots of engineering companies will give you a tour including factories, car building plants and research centres.  Just go on their website to take a look and book a tour.

They also have open days where you can go and visit, sometimes your school will take you, but you can go to lots of these with your family and they can be a really fun day out, with great activities to take part in.

Virtual work experiences

Did you know that work experience can be virtual too?  How amazing!

Some of these are like short courses that you can take with videos about daily tasks, or 360 degree tours of workplaces that you can even watch on VR headsets.  

But 'virtual' experiences are also open on the internet if you search for them.

Shadowing

This is when you visit a workplace and watch what someone does.  It can be for a few hours or a few days, its a great way to find out more about what they really do day to day.  It will also help you see if the job is something you want to do.

T-levels, traineeships and apprenticeships

All these courses include work experience as part of the learning - you'll go and visit different workplaces and get to see what lots of different companies do.

If you're not sure what these are, then you can find out more about these courses in the other case studies! 

Find out more