Workplace experiences
Encounters with employers and experiences of the workplace are powerful learning experiences for young people.
Workplace experiences are evolving and modernising to provide young people with broader, more diverse opportunities to engage with the world of work.
To support the Government's committment to introduce 10 days' worth of work experience to every young person across England, this extends beyond the traditional block-placement to include innovative models such as multiple workplace visits across different industries and embedded, employer-led projects.
Engaging young people in quality, outcome focused workplace experiences younger, ideally from year 7, all the way through secondary education enables employers to have more impact.
The Gatsby Benchmarks
High-quality careers education, as defined by the updated Gatsby Benchmarks, requires dedicated employer engagement.
Learn moreModern work experience
Keep up to date with modern work experience and our equalex pilots.
Find out more
What is equalex?
- A framework of structured, progressive learning outcomes to raise the quality of work experience for learners
- A multi-year, multi-experience model supported by the curriculum and accessible to ALL learners
- A tiered approach providing a structure offering breadth and depth of workplace experiences
The equalex learning outcomes
The equalex framework is underpinned by learning outcomes and objectives. The learning outcomes articulate the aim and intent of a careers programme for educators, the objectives translate these into measurable goals for specific activities/experiences. They describe the knowledge, skills, or behaviours learners should be able to demonstrate after completing a given activity, ensuring a clear link between planned intent and tangible outcomes.
Employers can use the outcomes to align their offer when planning with educators to identify which elements of the equalex framework they are supporting.
What does this mean for employers?
Currently being piloted in Careers Hubs and Multi Academy Trusts across England, equalex offers an opportunity to transform work experience and ensure every learner has access to an offer which is delivered with equity and quality through multiple experiences. Employers can adopt the flexible model to support activity in a way which meets their needs as a business rather than intense 121 week long placements.
equalex aims to support young people to be inspired across their educational journey with multiple workplace touchpoints giving them valuable insight into different industries to support them in their career planning, but more importantly ensuring they are developing the relevant skills, knowledge and behaviours for their best next step.
To effectively support education institutions, you can use our free Employer Standards framework which has been designed for employers to maximise their careers education outreach impact.
Connect with your local Careers Hub to see how you can support more modern workplace experiences.
