Norfolk businesses are being urged to help support young people to be better prepared for work by offering work experience placements. Norfolk County Council’s Work Experience Norfolk campaign is asking for employers to pledge a work experience placement for a post-16 student in Norfolk. Giving students the opportunity to experience work while still at school is key to ensuring their work readiness as well as helping them to decide on a future career path. Creating work experience opportunities for students and school leavers also has great benefits for employers and can help towards achieving their own objectives. It gives the business the chance to gain access to local talent by seeing first-hand what young people in Norfolk have to offer – which often includes fresh ideas and a different perspective – particularly when it comes to the likes of using social media. Offering a work experience opportunity that a young person truly values can also help to raise the profile of a business with their family, friends and the local community. This can be a powerful recruitment tool for businesses as people will then recommend them as a good firm to work for. Placements can positively impact on existing staff too by boosting morale and raising confidence through offering mentoring opportunities and supervisory experience to staff. Cllr Penny Carpenter, Chair of Norfolk County Council’s Children’s Services Committee, said: “For employers, work experience is about giving back to society and helping the future economy by preparing young people for the world of work. Having a work experience programme where young people can work on real projects – not just some of the more mundane tasks – means they get a true picture of what it is like to work in an industry. “Businesses in our community are often willing to offer work experience as they are part of our wider community and can support a young person as they enter such an important stage of their life. I’d urge Norfolk businesses to help our young people by offering a work experience placement – it’s a two-way process and they can also see great benefits.” Work experience placements can be of varying lengths and take place at different times of the year; schools and colleges will work with the employer around the needs of the business so that both the student and employer will benefit. East Norfolk Sixth Form College student India Biocec completed a week-long placement in the accounts department at Proserv: “Spending time at Proserv allowed me to experience real-life work, which will help me feel more confident about starting a job when I leave college. I got the chance to sample office life, and was able to use some of the knowledge I’d learnt on my AAT course. I’d say it was an excellent all-round experience and I’m very grateful to everyone involved for giving me the opportunity.” If you’re an employer interested in inspiring and motivating local young people to help them be better prepared for work, complete the short form to let us know the opportunities you can offer to a Norfolk sixth form or college student. Please complete the form by 23 June if possible as this will give schools a chance to contact you before they break up for the summer holiday.