Page 122 - Guiding-at-risk-youth-through-learning-to-work-Lessons-from-across-Europe

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

For young people with special needs and those who have not adjusted to a
mainstream setting, work placements can offer significant benefits. The Work
placement programme in Iceland is intended for students in grades 8-10 who
have not settled in well in their current school.
Work experience schemes can also be beneficial to the organisations and
companies involved, with opportunities to:
(a) promote the company and build links with local schools that can help to
attract school leavers into jobs (develop new recruitment channels);
(b) help improve the employability of young people coming onto the labour
market;
(c) promote the value of vocational qualifications;
(d) permanent staff can gain experience of being in a supervisory position;
(e) keep up-to-date with developments in education.
Despite the diverse benefits, the literature review confirmed the finding of the
OECD study (2004a) on career guidance by suggesting that students in many EU
countries still have too few, or no, opportunities to take part in work experience.
This is particularly true for a specific group of countries but differences are also
evident between regions and municipalities in countries, which have well
established work experience programmes. This is because, in many cases, the
organisation of these activities is not mandatory, and depends on the initiatives
taken by individual guidance staff, schools, municipalities and/or regions.
Evidence also suggests that some actors are debating and questioning the
usefulness and necessity of work placements for young people. In Sweden,
experiences range from one municipality to another; some schools have closed
down their work experience programmes in recent years, although, in some
cases, this has not happened without huge resistance from pupils themselves.
Other commentators claim that work placement periods are more important today
than ever before due to the smaller number of summer and part-time work
opportunities available to young people.

6.3.2. Careers fairs and company visits
Special events such as careers fairs and company visits can provide valuable
experience for young people, offer an opportunity to explore different fields of
work and career paths and also to seek employment. They enable young people
to meet and talk to representatives from different industries and to find out what
is required (in terms of skills and qualifications) to access certain occupations.
Careers fairs and workplace visits take place universally across the study
countries, although the level of access to such services varies considerably from

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