|
Employers - Health & Safety
Building a skilled workforce for the future
|
|
|
| Work Experience |
|
|
 “Work experience is one of the most important link activities between employers and secondary school and colleges. It involves more students, more employers and more days of practical experience than any other activity. This exposure to work is a significant step in preparing young people for adult and working life. It provides an opportunity to foster an early understanding of the importance of health and safety and to influence the attitudes of the future workforce”.
|
(Managing health and safety on work experience: A guide for organisers)
|
|
|
| Benefits to Student's |
|
|
Well-planned and organised work experience has an important role in the part of education as it: -
 |
Helps to develop student’s personal and social skills; |
|
Helps to develop the attitudes and key skills students need for the working work, for example communication, working with others and problem solving; |
|
Gives them important opportunities to learn directly about working life and the working environment at first hand. |
It is therefore essential that: -
|
The student is given the correct guidance when choosing a placement |
|
He/she has a clear focus on what he/she wants to get out of the experience. |
|
The student has a holistic experience. |
|
The complexity of the differing skills and tasks within the workplace are explored. |
|
The company has a clear view of why the student is on a placement. |
|
The company has a clear view of what it is that it’s providing. |
|
The company can provide the expertise, in all of its forms, to meet the needs of the student’s required placement outcomes. |
|
TWEBLO also encourages teachers to go into business to up-skill within their chosen field, to further develop the school management team, curriculum resource development or share multi-disciplined knowledge gained from a particular placement. |
|
|
|
| Benefits to Employer's |
|
|
 Work experience does not solely benefit the student; it also offers benefits to the companies who participate in the programme and their employees.
|
Influencing the quality of future employees – employers can help to improve the quality and work readiness of young people emerging onto the labour market. |
|
Development of recruitment channels – many work experience students have subsequently been engaged as permanent employees, this can also assist in reducing recruitment costs. |
|
Influencing career choices – employers can use work experience placements as a means of raising a career profile and in some cases dispel unwarranted stereotyped views of certain careers. |
|
Raising the community profile – work experience placements can create an opportunity to enhance the company image. |
|
Creation of management development opportunities – the process of policy development, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of work experience programmes gives employees the opportunity to develop their management and coaching skills and widen their own experience. |
|
Increased motivation of employees – companies participating on education business link activities have found that such activities increase the motivation of their employees. |
|
Understanding changes in the education system – closer links with schools helps employers to understand modern learning processes and the current educational system. |
|
Monetary - students may even provide fresh perspectives and ideas! |
|
|
|
| Responsibilities of Key Players |
|
|
The School
LEAs and schools have a common law duty to look after the students that they are educating, they must satisfy themselves that the placements they arrange will be safe. They are responsible for the following: -
|
Disclosing, to the employer, any medical, behavioural or special needs that the student has that may affect the student's health and safety or that of others. |
|
Informing Connexions of all placements that have been organised for students. |
|
Ensuring that students do not use placements that have not been recommended by TWEBLO. |
|
Ensure that where the student is travelling out of the local area that chaperone arrangements are agreed by the parent/guardian. |
|
Ensuring that the parent is provided with the Information to Parents form once it has been sent by TWEBLO. |
|
Briefing the students prior to work experience commencing. |
|
Debriefing students after the work experience placement has been completed. Any feedback that risks were not adequately controlled should be reported to TWEBLO. |
Contacts
DfES
Tel: 0845 6022260
Fax: 0845 6033360
E-mail: dfes@prologistics.co.uk
HSE
Tel: 01787 881165
Fax: 01787313995
|
|
|
| Employer's Responsibilities |
|
|
 Under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 the employer has a legal duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare of the pupil on work experience. Under the Health and Safety (Training for Employment) Regulations 1990 the pupil is regarded as an employee for the duration of the placement and therefore the legal responsibilities in relation to the pupil is no different to that of any other employee. However, the employers’ duty of care is even greater due to the learner’s age, inexperience and lack of understanding.
Under the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 an employer must not employ a young person unless they have assessed the risks to the health and safety of the young person or reviewed risk assessments where the employer already employs young persons taking into account;
| • |
the inexperience, lack of awareness of risks and immaturity of young persons |
| • |
the fitting-out and layout of the work place and the workstation |
| • |
the nature, degree and duration of the exposure to physical, biological and chemical agents |
| • |
the form, range and use or work equipment and the way in which it is handled |
| • |
the organisation or processes and activities |
| • |
the extent of the health and safety training provided or to be provided to young persons |
| • |
risks from agents, processes and work listed in Council Directive 94/33/EC |
No employer shall employ a young person for work:
| • |
which is beyond his physical or psychological capacity; |
| • |
involving harmful exposure to agents which are toxic or carcinogenic, cause heritable genetic damage or harm to the unborn child or which in any other way chronically affect human health; |
| • |
involving harmful exposure to radiation; |
| • |
involving the risk of accidents which it may reasonably be assumed cannot be recognised or avoided by young persons owing to their insufficient attention to safety or lack of experience or training; or |
| • |
in which there is a risk to health from: -
(i) extreme cold or heat
(ii) noise; or
(iii) vibration
If the pupil is in year 10 or 11 the employer is also responsible for supplying the parent/guardian with information on, |
| • |
the risks to the pupil’s health and safety identified by the risk assessment |
| • |
the preventative and protective measures |
| • |
the risks caused by others |
TWEBLO Limited has followed the Tyneside TEC’s lead and has continued to do this on the employer’s behalf.
|
|
|
