External Partners

The Fermain Academy > External Partners

Calling all Employers and training providers

Here at The Fermain Academy we are keen to give our students every opportunity to access the world of work, and with this in mind, we welcome employers, industry representatives and training providers to make contact with us to support our students in their journey to employability. Here is a list of possible activities you could get involved with in our school:

  • Work place visits
  • Careers talks
  • Work experience placements
  • Mentoring
  • CV writing advice
  • Interview preparation

If you are able to support any of these activities to help our students to develop employability skills, please contact the named Careers Lead below: m.robinson@thefermainacademy.org

Why you should consider working with the school and our young people:

  • Inspire tomorrow’s workforce, which will broaden career options/aspirations.
  • Impart your experience, knowledge and expertise to others.
  • Help others to understanding the structure of your business and the career possibilities that exist within it.
  • Develop new skills to assist your employees’ career progression such as team leading, presenting, communicating, organising, etc.
  • Assist recruitment and retention plans – engaging with future talent.
  • Motivate employees and promote corporate social responsibility (CRS).
  • Highlight employability skills, helping to make young people work ready.

Examples of the types of activity and engagement your company could provide:

  • Careers Fairs/Events
  • Career talks
  • Employer mentoring
  • CV building
  • Job roles and definitions – skill building and alignment
  • Supporting specific curriculum led activities such as Product Design, Business Studies, ICT
  • Mock interview sessions
  • Work place visits/work experience placements/job shadowing
  • Enterprise activities such as Business Dragons
  • Work related workshops

Work Experience

Work related learning is a fundamental part of the ethos at The Fermain Academy. We are looking to broaden our students understanding of the world of work. By offering a work experience placement, students will expand their learning from the classroom into the work environment.

At The Fermain Academy, students will embark on work experience during Years 10 and 12.

FAQs (Frequently asked questions)

Work experience takes up lots of my time and there are lots of forms to fill in.

There are no forms required by law.  Most of the processes (risk assessments, insurance etc.) you have already gone through.

What about health and safety – don’t I have to do special risk assessments?

In most cases, no. If you already employ a young person under the age of 18 then you should have already considered the risks that impact on a young person when you completed your risk assessments as part of ensuring your employees work safely, so nothing else should be needed. If you have not employed a young person before then you will have to review your risk assessment to identify if there are any specific risks which could arise for a young person in your business, taking into account things relevant to a young person such as age, relative lack of maturity or experience.

I’ll have to take out extra insurance and that will cost me

Not true – you will be covered through your Employer’s Liability Insurance and should not have to pay more. It is good practice to inform your insurer that you have a work experience student on your premises, but it’s unlikely you’ll be required to pay any extra premium.

I’ll have to ensure all my staff have DRB checks

Not true – there is no legal requirement to have staff DRB checked and whether a check of a staff member should be carried out will depend on the circumstances. You should consider whether a check is needed on a member of staff who has specific responsibility for supervising a student (rather than simply working alongside a student), especially where the work experience is long-term or the student is under 16 or vulnerable for another reason.

Work experience doesn’t make a difference – so what’s the point?

Yes it does! In today’s job market employers like you look for young people who are ready for work. A work experience placement is the best way of beginning to learn what employers look for and can be inspirational for the student. All surveys of work experience are positive about the benefits.

What’s in it for me? What are the benefits for employers?

You get a new pair of hands for a short period. You get to look at a possible new employee and your staff working with the student get to develop their supervisory skills and learn more about young people – customers of the future! You are also giving something back to the community, and giving young people a chance.

What should I do if the student does not turn up?

Please contact the school if the students fails to turn up if they are one hour later than the agreed start time.  IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THE SCHOOL KNOWS THE WHEREABOUTS OF ALL STUDENTS AT ALL TIMES.