Work experience for a 14 year old?

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

My daughter has to do work experience for a week starting July 4th. She has been told to find herself a placement by the end of January, and as far as I can tell, that is all the help the school has given.

She has tried a couple of places, but they don't take anyone for any position, even just work experience, unless they are 18. . . . and she will only be 14.

I don't really want her traveling any distance, especially with covid, but even without that restriction I am completely stumped as to where and who to ask for work experience. . . for anything, let alone something that would interest her.
She's only 14 so it's not like she has any huge ambitions beyond drawing comics and watching cartoons.

. . . .
Any ideas of simply where to begin would be appreciated.
She is fluent in Japanese, likes art and is doing media studies and business studies.

Help.

 

[Nivag]

Is this a school thing?
Surely the should be a arranging for that age group. I'm guessing firms won't take someone on that young as safe keeping policies for youngsters might be an issue.

I know I did work experience back in the late 80s at 15 but the school sorted that out.

 

[AverageJoe]

I think it might be a Friends and Families thing tbh

 

[Edie]

14 is really young, it’s 16 in Leeds. My lads did a job with an MP and a job in cyber security, both of which me and their Dad organised. But the school had a reserve list for kids who didn’t have anything they organised.

What does your daughter want to do? You’ve not mentioned? She must have her own ideas?

 

[killer b]

Yeah, it's 'go and work in your dads office', not 'contact businesses you might want to work for.'

 

[andysays]

I'm astounded that a school would expect pupils to find their own work experience with no help at all, both because of the significant child protection and other health and safety issues, and because doing it this way will effectively mean that kids whose parents have lots of friends with prestigious careers will inevitably end up with more interesting and rewarding work experience placements than those who don't.

14 also sounds a bit young to be doing proper work experience, TBH

 

[killer b]

I'm astounded that a school would expect pupils to find their own work experience with no help at all, both because of the significant child protection and other health and safety issues, and because doing it this way will effectively mean that kids whose parents have lots of friends with prestigious careers will inevitably end up with more interesting and rewarding work experience placements than those who don't.

14 also sounds a bit young to be doing proper work experience, TBH

This is how they did it when I was at school tbf. The kids with better connected parents having a better time of it is a feature, not a bug.

 

[Edie]

I'm astounded that a school would expect pupils to find their own work experience with no help at all, both because of the significant child protection and other health and safety issues, and because doing it this way will effectively mean that kids whose parents have lots of friends with prestigious careers will inevitably end up with more interesting and rewarding work experience placements than those who don't.

14 also sounds a bit young to be doing proper work experience, TBH

That’s literally life tho.

 

[andysays]

This is how they did it when I was at school tbf. The kids with better connected parents having a better time of it is a feature, not a bug.

Yeah, I wondered about that, but it's a shit way of doing it whether it's deliberate or not.

 

[killer b]

Yeah, I wondered about that, but it's a shit way of doing it whether it's deliberate or not.

No businesses actually want to take a load of snotnosed teenagers on work experience, the only way they can find enough placements is by getting the sharp elbowed parents to take on part of the job

 

[purenarcotic]

I’m surprised they aren’t helping out with this, especially because of covid, but I think most people just go to work with their parents, ask their hairdresser or a local shop or whatever. It’s highly unlikely you’d get anything specific to her interests.

 

[andysays]

That’s literally life tho.

Yes it is, and I'm not suggesting that school helping a child from a relatively deprived background to go on a work experience place beyond what their parents would be able to arrange themselves would necessarily make that much difference to their overall career chances, but it's still shit.

Anyway, I don't want to derail ATOMIC SUPLEX 's thread any further.

 

[clicker]

Could she ask her primary school? They at least know her and probably need the help. Crafts with the kids, listening to them read etc...

 

[souljacker]

My daughter is in the same boat (as well as being the same age). Have you got any media contacts she could work with?

We have written to Primark as she is interested in fashion and the HO is in Reading. Also to a local bookshop as we indirectly know the owner. She is also doing volunteering at the local Oxfam for DofE so we could easily get her in there if nothing else comes up.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Volunteering for a local charity shop or some such? Although they might not have safeguarding policies for teenagers also.

 

[mx wcfc]

Volunteering for a local charity shop or some such? Although they might not have safeguarding policies for teenagers also.

Little ms mx tried that for her Duke of Edinburgh.

They wouldn't take anyone under 16.

It was a pain in the arse finding something for her.

 

[weltweit]

Seems young to me too, how long does the placement have to last?

 

[Sue]

At 14, i already had a Saturday job so was well aware I didn't want to work in a bakery/cafe when I left school.

(Work experience as a school thing didn't exist then or it certainly didn't at my school anyway...)

 

[MickiQ]

At 14, i already had a Saturday job so was well aware I didn't want to work in a bakery/cafe when I left school.

(Work experience as a school thing didn't exist then or it certainly didn't at my school anyway...)

Work experience has been round a long time, I didn't do it but I remember the odd one or two at the first place I worked and that was in the late 70's
This has changed a lot in recent years, when the three elder ones did theirs, the school had a list of local businesses willing to take kids for a week though Son learnt a hard lesson which was to apply straightaway for the best jobs, he ended up washing up in a care home.
By the time we got to Youngest 9 years younger than Middle her nearest sibling, we had to do a lot of the work. She went to work with her sister's husband for a week.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

I was a paperboy at 13 and then worked on a milk round from 14 or 15 (better money) but it just isn’t like that now I don’t think. We used to stand on the back of a Sherpa van as it sped along at speeds easily over 40MPH. Where was the risk assessment?

 

[Sue]

At 14, i already had a Saturday job so was well aware I didn't want to work in a bakery/cafe when I left school.

Work experience has been round a long time, I didn't do it but I remember the odd one or two at the first place I worked and that was in the late 70's
This has changed a lot in recent years, when the three elder ones did theirs, the school had a list of local businesses willing to take kids for a week though Son learnt a hard lesson which was to apply straightaway for the best jobs, he ended up washing up in a care home.
By the time we got to Youngest 9 years younger than Middle her nearest sibling, we had to do a lot of the work. She went to work with her sister's husband for a week.

Hmm, this was in the mid/late 80s. I don't think I even knew it was a thing until maybe 10 years later. My younger sister -- so late 80s/early 90s -- didn't do it either. (Maybe lack of jobs in general at that point was part of it. )

 

[gosub]

Excellent news! Our chimney hasn't been cleaned in ages.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Excellent news! Our chimney hasn't been cleaned in ages.

It was great fun. The danger added to it. And it meant I could buy cigarettes lol.
Those were the days.

 

[scifisam]

Hmm, this was in the mid/late 80s. I don't think I even knew it was a thing until maybe 10 years later. My younger sister -- so late 80s/early 90s -- didn't do it either. (Maybe lack of jobs in general at that point was part of it. )

My school did it in the late 80s, also at age 14.

These days it's unrealistic for many places to be willing to take on a 14-year-old though.

 

[marshall]

You work in media, right? Do you have any contacts in ad agencies (or whatever they’re called now), when I worked in creative depts we looked after a few 14/15 year old work apprentice kids (always an important client’s son/daughter who we couldn’t fob off), they usually had an art/design ‘bent’ so it was pretty easy to keep them interested with a brief to design a new crisp/drink/whatever, then get them to present whatever they came up with at the end of the week. Some of them were really good, put us to shame. So we’d nick their ideas and send ‘em packing .

Nah, it comes down to you and how well connected you are I’m afraid. Life eh?

 

[Mumbles274]

Who do you know ATOMIC SUPLEX ? One of my daughters did work experience at the local zoo because I knew someone that worked there and got a route in for her to aak/apply with support from my friend. She was about 14 at the time if I recall, she did a week hard labour cleaning out the rhinos (and went back for another week the following year)

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I think it might be a Friends and Families thing tbh

Yeah I figured it might be something like that. . . . I just don't have any nearby. All my friends work freelance and travel.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Is this a school thing?
Surely the should be a arranging for that age group. I'm guessing firms won't take someone on that young as safe keeping policies for youngsters might be an issue.

I know I did work experience back in the late 80s at 15 but the school sorted that out.

Yes, same for me. All the school seem to have done is provide a form with a list of insurance liability demands on whatever company is kind enough to take on and supervise an under 16 year old.

 

[rubbershoes]

I'm astounded that a school would expect pupils to find their own work experience with no help at all, both because of the significant child protection and other health and safety issues, and because doing it this way will effectively mean that kids whose parents have lots of friends with prestigious careers will inevitably end up with more interesting and rewarding work experience placements than those who don't.

14 also sounds a bit young to be doing proper work experience, TBH

All the places that take school school children for work experience are looked into . The child sets it the work experience and the place then gets checked out.

Often there is already a list of places that have been checked out and the child contacts the ones they are interested in.

That's how it works in Devon anyway. But it's the end of yr 10 so they are generally 15

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Yeah, it's 'go and work in your dads office', not 'contact businesses you might want to work for.'

The one thing they did say was that you should try to contact the businesses you might want to work for. As I understand it, working for your dad/mum is discouraged. Neither mum or dad have anything to offer anyway. We both work from home.