 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
||
| Unpaid
work experience “very valuable” The survey, conducted by the European Framework for Work Experience, showed that British employers consider unpaid work experience at a relevant sector or specific employer to be “very valuable.” From the 500 companies surveyed across five European countries, UK companies rated unpaid work experience the highest. The other countries, Spain, Germany, Finland and Romania, considered unpaid work experience to be significantly less important on the one-to-five scale. British companies also viewed paid work experience as beneficial, and slightly more valuable than unpaid work experience. Liz Rhodes, director of the National Council for Work Experience said: “It is true to say that employers want to recruit graduates who have had any form of work experience, whether paid or unpaid. It's not a question of valuing unpaid over paid work experience. We would argue that all students on work experience should be paid as they are doing work that benefits the business or organisation. “My own view is that 'any experience is experience' and it is important that you reflect on whatever it is you have done so you can talk about it. Employers want graduates, and indeed others, to articulate their achievements and have some understanding of the world of work.” Christine Fanthome, author of Work Experience: A guide for students, said: “As the number of students engaging in higher education rises, it is becoming increasingly important for job candidates to demonstrate a longstanding interest in their specific area in addition to their degree. Faced with several hundreds of applications, only those that offer something special are likely to impress the employer sufficiently to get through to the next round.” The aims of the research were to guide and assist university students and graduates, employers, academic departments and university careers services in organising and supporting work experience. The European Framework for Work Experience is a project funded by the European Commission’s Leonardo Da Vinci programme, in which 12 partners from five European countries take part. Designed to create a standard for best practice in work experience, the programme is managed by the Career Research Advisory Centre (CRAC) in Cambridge, England.
|
related links: |