Work experience for a 14 year old?

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

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...

I did think of this, and though my daughter said no (because she doesn't like kids and it is well beyond the bounds of any future job she might be interested in) it does seem like a good bet at the moment.
With covid and all that it's just totally bonkers.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

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)

As I mentioned in the OP I don't know anyone locally. Well nobody who would have a job she could do work experience with. Most of my friends are freelancers in the TV industry, and even if a production office was interested in taking her, I don't want her travelling to london every day on her own. I probably wouldn't even if there wasn't all this covid bother.

The more I think about it the more mad I get. It's really quite unfair.

 

[Aladdin]

Kids have to be 15 minimum here to do work experience.
Most schools used to sort the work placements but after lots of complaints they decided to leave the organising of placements to parents. That way the school does not take responsibility if something doesn't work out so well...

It's really outside of school and the report from the employer and student's project work make up the assessment.

 

[Aladdin]

I did think of this, and though my daughter said no (because she doesn't like kids and it is well beyond the bounds of any future job she might be interested in) it does seem like a good bet at the moment.
With covid and all that it's just totally bonkers.

She could work in the office in a school. Maybe?

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

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

It;s at the end of year 10, but my daughter isn't 15 until August.

 

[clicker]

I did think of this, and though my daughter said no (because she doesn't like kids and it is well beyond the bounds of any future job she might be interested in) it does seem like a good bet at the moment.
With covid and all that it's just totally bonkers.

It'd give her experience of being in an adult work environment. Adapting her communication skills for different age groups. Time keeping and flexibility. I wouldn't worry more than that.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

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.

As do a lot of jobs. Get her making you tea for a week whilst studying cartoons.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

I'm not even sure what kids take away from work experience. I remember mine and it just showed me an insight into work being just as shit as school but I'd actually have to do the work rather than mess around. Great. Lots learnt.

 

[StoneRoad]

Sorry, but the whole idea is totally bonkers with the pandemic in progress.
Not everybody could line something like that up ...

I "understand" the ideas behind the why & wherefore but 14 is a bit too young. imo.
and all it is becoming, is a lesson in how unfair the real world actually is.

 

[clicker]

Sorry, but the whole idea is totally bonkers with the pandemic in progress.
Not everybody could line something like that up ...

I "understand" the ideas behind the why & wherefore but 14 is a bit too young. imo.
and all it is becoming, is a lesson in how unfair the real world actually is.

I think she'll only be 14 as she's an August baby, most of the class will be 15.
You can get a Saturday job at 15 I think. So having work experience may be helpful and she can waffle about it at her interview.

Or do what I did, lie about your age and flog shoes in Oxford St from 14.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Sorry, but the whole idea is totally bonkers with the pandemic in progress.
Not everybody could line something like that up ...

It really is bonkers isn't it? There is a pandemic. I am am 'high risk' so not mad about her going to a primary school (or anywhere busy actually).
I just read the letter again.
It really does say that they discourage kids working at their parents place of work. I do at least have an email to voice my concerns to. I think I might do that.

 

[spanglechick]

Summer term of y10 is pretty standard. We do it in y12 too.

Work experience is a legal requirement but schools aren’t given any financial or logistical support to make it happen. An average sized school would need 180 y10 placements every year, or more - to meet kids’ preferences wrt travel etc. I reckon it’d be best part of a full time member of staff if you wanted CP etc checking out.

I think the covid thing is tricky. Schools have to proceed with planning stuff. We can’t write off the possibility of enrichment activities in seven months’ time on the basis that they might not happen. However, a lot of things in the last year and a half have been called “work experience” but have been only tangentially so. A kid checking in at 9am Monday on a zoom call, being given a project brief, and then checking in once a day with their progress definitely counts. It might be possible for a freelancer to do something like that with her.

 

[clicker]

Local library, food bank, outside helper at vaxx hub?

Eta would be nice not to have vaxx hubs then.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Summer term of y10 is pretty standard. We do it in y12 too.

Work experience is a legal requirement but schools aren’t given any financial or logistical support to make it happen. An average sized school would need 180 y10 placements every year, or more - to meet kids’ preferences wrt travel etc. I reckon it’d be best part of a full time member of staff if you wanted CP etc checking out.

I think the covid thing is tricky. Schools have to proceed with planning stuff. We can’t write off the possibility of enrichment activities in seven months’ time on the basis that they might not happen. However, a lot of things in the last year and a half have been called “work experience” but have been only tangentially so. A kid checking in at 9am Monday on a zoom call, being given a project brief, and then checking in once a day with their progress definitely counts. It might be possible for a freelancer to do something like that with her.

Thank you Spangles, that is very helpful. It also highlights the problems the school faces, which I guess makes it sound a lot less 'bonkers' on their part.

If I really can go down the zoom route, I could ask my friends in (more interesting) long term jobs (I know a neflix commissioner in Amsterdam for example, and there must be others).
I guess I would have to check with the school to see if it is OK.

 

[Boudicca]

A friend of mine has a clothing shop in Greenwich market. I don't know whether she would be willing to take on a 14 year old but I think it would be worth trying some of small independent shops as 14 would be old enough to be of use to a sole trader, if only to do the coffee runs!

 

[spudulike]

"Working" holiday?

When my eldest was that age I came across her sitting at our computer trying to write a work experience request letter to some solicitors because her school thought that was the sort of career direction she would be following. Very uncharacteristic of her to get stuck like that - no enthusiasm. So... I suggested she write to the riding stables on Dartmoor she was going to for her holiday (again) and get the owner to add some work experience. One happy daughter. She then wanted to be a vet for a while but was introduced to pharmacology and is now a research fellow working on type 1 diabetes and loves her work.

Now the school wasn't wrong, she could have done law but they'd ignored the boost from doing something she would like. As far as I know she hasn't been held back in her career because she spent a week mucking out horse shit rather than office filing.

 

[mx wcfc]

"Working" holiday?

mucking out horse shit rather than office filing.

My first school holidays job was mucking out on a farm. It got better. I drove tractors at 15. Badly, but hey ho.

I told my dad I really enjoyed working outside, and was thinking about going into farming.

He talked me out of it

Cunt.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

As I mentioned in the OP I don't know anyone locally. Well nobody who would have a job she could do work experience with. Most of my friends are freelancers in the TV industry, and even if a production office was interested in taking her, I don't want her travelling to london every day on her own. I probably wouldn't even if there wasn't all this covid bother.

The more I think about it the more mad I get. It's really quite unfair.

Ah, I thought you lived in London, I was going to suggest contacting the London bureau of the Asahi Shimbun.

Asahi Shimbun European General Bureau, London (Charterhouse Square)

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Retail work experience in the nearest comics/graphic novels shop?

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

Whereabouts are you based?

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I did a week in M & S - pretty sure the school organised it, and we could pick what interested us. I cant remember the other options now. 14 sounds a bit young but suppose it might depend on when her birthday falls in the school year.

As she's fluent in Japanese it might be worth contacting the Japanese embassy in case they do any. Might not be her preference but there must be very few teenagers in Britain who are fluent speakers.

There's also the cartoon museum in London, although that might be closed at the moment due to the pandemic.

 

[Orang Utan]

ATOMIC SUPLEX have you got a garden shed? You could keep her in-house and simulate an Amazon Warehouse workplace, getting her to do all your eBay admin, selling leather jackets, rare vinyl, motorcycle helmets and room odorisers

 

[Orang Utan]

(Btw i also did work experience at aged 14, in a government office. They got us drunk in a pub at Friday lunchtime. They love parties, don’t they?)

 

[Elpenor]

On the Japanese speaking angle; what about the Japan Centre?

Or one of the Japanese schools, there are some in St Johns Wood / Ealing I believe as that’s where our expats sent their kids.

Perhaps not that interesting though.

 

[purenarcotic]

M

Thank you Spangles, that is very helpful. It also highlights the problems the school faces, which I guess makes it sound a lot less 'bonkers' on their part.

If I really can go down the zoom route, I could ask my friends in (more interesting) long term jobs (I know a neflix commissioner in Amsterdam for example, and there must be others).
I guess I would have to check with the school to see if it is OK.

Well times are changing tbf, so remote working is going to be far more common for her generation. I also get the anxiety of travel around London, but taking out COVID, my work experience was really far away (Kingston to Kentish Town) and I was sent all over the shop by who I was with. I didn’t get much out of the actual work, but looking back the confidence and independence it gave me was really important. And it was good for my overly anxious parents too, to let me go a bit I mean.

 

[trashpony]

Oh I wasn’t aware I was supposed to find the work experience - I thought the school did. He had to fill in a form saying how far he could travel.

I guess the foal can do my filing for a week.

 

[dessiato]

If your daughter is fluent in Japanese could she apply to some online language schools?

A friend of mine has a daughter who is fluent in English and Polish, they live in Poland. She taught English from about 14. She did it quite profitably for while. Perhaps the OP daughter could do the same with Japanese.

 

[rutabowa]

I vividly remember my work experience. I had the idea of contacting the only recording studio in scunthorpe and doing it there, but I left it it too long and a friend who I had told got in touch with them and did it instead. We fell out a bit. BUT instead I got a place in the accounts department at the steelworks. I learnt how to programme this automated data entry thing on green screen computers and got bought biscuits by the ladies there. Probably more useful. I dont think either me or my friends lives were changed by our placements so I wouldn't worry about it matching ambitions. I do know everywhere I worked in the past would be a straight "no" to 14 yrs old though, because it has come up before...

 

[rutabowa]

I guess 1 lesson was though: if she does happen to think of somewhere great, dont tell any friends at a school until it is fully arranged!

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

On the Japanese speaking angle; what about the Japan Centre?

Or one of the Japanese schools, there are some in St Johns Wood / Ealing I believe as that’s where our expats sent their kids.

Perhaps not that interesting though.

Japan centre maybe, ealing is too far. Still wouldn't be mad keen about her getting on a train from Croydon every day with covid about.