Page 120 - Guiding-at-risk-youth-through-learning-to-work-Lessons-from-across-Europe

Guiding at-risk youth through learning to work
Lessons from across Europe

The review of examples and much of the literature show that work experience
can have many benefits for both young people and employers. First, it can provide
young people with an opportunity to improve their understanding of the world of
work. Although many secondary level students are already involved in working life
(e.g. working for a family business or doing after-school, weekend and holiday
work), these jobs are not necessarily taken to develop skills: more often they are to
earn pocket money or to help the family business. Well organised and executed
work experience periods aim to place more emphasis on ‘learning than earning’
and can help young people to gain knowledge of the world of work.
A work experience placement can also offer a structured learning
environment, giving the young person the chance to add to their skills profile,
supplementing those developed during school study and extra-curricular
activities. It can also provide an opportunity to apply knowledge gained at school
to real work situations. Providing structured work placement, however, requires
an effort from the school, the young person and the employer to ensure
appropriate preparation, support during the placement and follow-up afterwards.
In the Swedish example of a structured work placement programme, preparatory
activities include lessons by career guidance counsellors about the purpose of
the work experience, information on the selection criteria and other practical
details.

PRAO (praktisk arbetslivsorientering), Sweden

Swedish schools have been organising work placements for children of compulsory school age
for several decades. This programme is known as PRAO (praktisk arbetslivsorientering) and the
aim is to give pupils tangible experiences of working life and an opportunity to grow.

Visits to local companies and organisations are arranged for pupils in the eighth grade to gain
some understanding of what is involved in various professions; they take place in the final year of
compulsory school (ninth grade). The placements can take as long as three to six weeks and
students may work in a factory, office or other locations.

Surveys and studies among young people indicate that they appreciate the PRAO programme. A
recent study among 750 ninth graders found that just over a third of the surveyed young people
(36 %) (www.skolverket.se) had a good work placement and 61 % felt that compulsory
education should include more practical placements. Another study from 2006 concluded that
70 % of young people felt their placement had worked out really well.

Undertaking work experience can also help young people to increase their
awareness of the types of careers available and to gain an insight into the
demands of jobs (e.g. importance of timekeeping, customer care, appearance,
etc.). Work experience can help young people to understand how learning at
school is important for getting a job and to find out what skills employers look for
when they are hiring someone to fill a job vacancy.

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