Work experience that works

At creative education agency Curious Minds, we have been working with arts organisations across the north west of England to test an alternative approach to finding routes into employment for disadvantaged and vulnerable young people. We were frustrated at the low level of take-up for our creative traineeships despite offering interesting work-shadowing opportunities in arts and cultural venues. We needed to gain a deeper understanding about why existing traineeship offers, in ours and other sectors, were not appealing to the target group of young people, whose situation and circumstances meant they were not ready or able to take on a full-time apprenticeship.

They need and want to be able to demonstrate to prospective employers that they are employable and worthy of a chance

Many of the young people we spoke to had a negative view of school and education. Having failed to achieve gold standard Level 2 qualifications (A to C at GCSE), they told us they did not want to do more classroom-based learning or exams, meaning the qualification element of the traineeships offer was a turn-off. Most had limited experience of the cultural sector outside school and were not aware of the employment opportunities available to them. Some had caring responsibilities making full-time work or learning difficult. All of them told us that they would struggle financially to commit to unpaid work experience. Their message was clear: they wanted real jobs that paid a wage where they felt valued and had a purpose.

So we went on to rejig the traineeship model to create Trailblaze, an adapted version of the Ignite ‘alternative Saturday jobs’ scheme delivered by Blaze in Lancashire. We used funding from Creative and Cultural Skills to provide paid part-time jobs for young people to work seven hours per week for 12 weeks in a cultural setting. As well as earning a ‘wage’, the young people were supported by their employer to achieve an Arts Award and were offered a cash bursary of up to £100 to spend on experiencing arts and culture first hand.

Arts and culture organisations were invited to take part in the scheme and within three days of putting the opportunity out in September last year, over 30 young people had expressed an interest. We were delighted with the response and went on to support employers to shape suitable job descriptions that would appeal to young people and give them the opportunity to make a genuine contribution. Specific jobs were advertised and 16 to 19 year olds were recruited into part-time roles in areas including social media, marketing, front of house, backstage and supporting workshops. They were paid at or above the minimum wage for their age and worked with a Trailblaze mentor to identify goals for their placement and beyond. By this September, 50 young people and 33 cultural organisations had been involved in the pilot.

As someone who left school without any formal qualifications and having spent my early career delivering participation initiatives in further education, I attribute the success of Trailblaze to its pragmatic and demand-led approach. It strengthens my long-held belief that forcing 16 to 19 year olds to do unpaid traineeships or on to entry-level further education courses is fundamentally flawed. Entry level and level one qualifications can be useful stepping stones to the next level but on their own tell a story that this person failed to achieve in their GCSEs. We have to acknowledge that for whatever reason the education system thus far has failed these young people. They need help to rebuild their confidence and sense of self-worth and the most effective way to do this is to put them in a situation where they feel valued, have a purpose and can experience a real sense of achievement. They need and want to be able to demonstrate to prospective employers that they are employable and worthy of a chance. The Trailblaze model offers them the opportunity to do all of this in a relatively short space of time and crucially within a sector that is inherently person-centred and nurturing.

According to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) research, two thirds of employers say that work experience is a crucial factor when hiring staff – more than those who prioritise academic qualifications. Not surprising then that of the 26 young people who had completed their Trailblaze placement to date, 24 have progressed to further education or employment.

Based on a snapshot sample of young people scoring themselves before and after placements, the evaluation conducted by independent researcher Dr Sandra Hiett suggests that on average young people experienced a 36% rise in confidence and their ability to communicate, 28% rise in their ability to self-organise and problem-solve, 26% increase in their ability to participate effectively in a team, and were 20% better at time-keeping by the end of the 12-week placement. These self-assessments were verified by employers, who considered all of them highly employable and work-ready.

Employers themselves described Trailblaze as a superior model of work experience to others in which they had participated and saw clear benefits, not just to the young employee, but to their organisation as well. One employer said: “She has a youthful language in social media that is a real asset to communicating with our young audience. It’s refreshing.”

The funding for Trailblaze has ended and we are now working with partners and local authorities to find alternative ways to take the programme forwards.

Derri Burdon is Chief Executive of Curious Minds.
www.curiousminds.org.uk

Work Experience Week this year will take place from 12 to 16 October. Register here to receive more information. #WEWeek2015 is dedicated to raising awareness of the benefits of high-quality work experience – currently only one in four employers offer work experience. Work Experience Week aims to increase the quantity and quality of work experience programmes, including traineeships, apprenticeships and internships.