Work experience should be put back until students are 16, according to new research.

Opportunities should also be spread throughout the year and not be limited to a “one-off” in order to have the greatest positive impact on young people, says the More Than a Job’s Worth: Making Work Experience Fit for Purpose report.

It was commissioned by WorkFinder - a subsidiary of the charity Founders4Schools - and written by LKMco.

Instead of the traditional one- and two-week work placements from age 14, colleges and schools should spread interactions throughout the academic year, including both short-term work experience opportunities and extended work experience placements that can be undertaken, for example, on one afternoon a week across a term.

Read more: Students want work experience back in the curriculum

Background: ‘Work experience: is it really worthwhile?’

More news: ‘Make work experience compulsory again,’ say most business leaders

Group work experience placements

Education institutions should also consider sending pupils out in groups rather than individually to increase efficiency and also boost skills like teamworking and communication.

For employers, the report suggests that they should make the most of existing platforms available to help broker relationships between employers and schools.

According to the report, work experience is more effective post-16 because at this age pupils are more likely to be able to fully develop and use the skills employers value.

It also raises concerns about the patchy access to work experience across the UK, considering a quarter of 14-to-16-year-olds and three-quarters of 16-to-19-year-olds in Britain have not taken part in work experience.

Access is more limited for young people in rural areas, and young people from more disadvantaged backgrounds are also less likely to experience high-quality work experience opportunities. Access is severely limited for young people with special educational needs or disabilities.

‘Skills for work’

Sherry Coutu, founder and chair of Workfinder, said: “This report calls for immediate action from educators, parents and employers to restructure work experience. Our future workforce does not routinely acquire relevant skills for work and employers report a huge gap between the skills that are needed and those that are available. Those who would benefit most are those most likely to miss out.” 

Will Millard, head of policy advocacy at the education and youth thinktank LKMco, said: “Many people look back at their work experience and feel it was time wasted, and too often work experience fails to live up to its potential. However, our report sets out how challenging some deeply entrenched assumptions about work experience among educators and employers, including when it should take place, would be very powerful for young people across the country.”