Careers / Employers

We know there are many local businesses who understand how important it is for 6th form students to get exposure to the workplace. Businesses need confident, skilled, work ready young people to enter the labour market. Varndean College places great value on the links we make with our business community and we want to make sure employers who want to support our students know how they can help.

If you would like to offer our students any of the activities mentioned below, please email Teresa Hoyles and she will get in touch with you.

At your business, you can:

• Meet a Student - and tell them about your business - a student would visit your premises for a morning or afternoon and meet staff, tour your business and find out what your business does.

• Job Shadowing - a student would spend a morning or afternoon or even a full day, shadowing a member of staff (or more than one) to find out what they do in their job.

• Traditional Work Experience - a student would spend 3-5 days at your workplace, working alongside staff perhaps on a mini 'project' you set for them.

At our college, you can:

• Share your Story - talk to students about your job, how you got into it and what it's like to work in that occupational sector - we are always keen to hear from employers who could spend an hour with us.

• Promote your Business - attend Apprenticeship Fairs or Careers Fairs for specific occupational sectors eg Health or Finance or Sport - we run these in the spring and summer terms.

• Broaden the Brief - give our students a 'live' project/brief to work on - students get an experience of 'real work' - you get fresh ideas for your project and our students get new skills and something to include on their CV.

What we can do for you….

Advertise your job or apprenticeship vacancy to our 6th form students for free.

Offer termly business networking breakfast events - a chance to share ideas - and free breakfast!

Offer fresh ideas on a live project - get a young person's perspective - good for you, great for their CV.

If you would like to offer any of the activities mentioned above to our students, or if you would like your firm to be placed in our employer 'possibly may be able to help' bank, please email Teresa Hoyles and she will get in touch with you. Companies who offer work experience will have their name and logo on a regularly updated running banner visible on our 'Careers' page on the college website for all students, staff and parents to see.

Employer Benefits of Work Experience

How Employers benefit from taking on a work experience student Apart from making a real difference to a young person's working life, offering work experience is beneficial to employers for a number of reasons.

• Recruitment opportunities
• Staff Development
• A more engaged workforce
• Engagement in the local community
• Contribution to economic development in the local area.

Work Experience Employer Evaluations

Each academic year the East Sussex County Council work experience team undertake an online survey with employers who took a work experience placement. The most recent survey was undertaken for academic year 2021-22. 62% of businesses strongly agreed/agreed that offering work experience improved the profile of the business in the community. 58% of businesses strongly agreed/agreed that it enabled their business to benefit from young people's ideas. 63% of businesses would offer a work experience placement in the future.

• The student had a wonderful 'can do' attitude. She worked hard and was enthusiastic about joining in fully. I would be delighted to employ her.
• Over the years we have used work experience as a tool to identify potential in students and other persons seeking work. The vast majority of our staff came via work experience or apprenticeship, with one going from trainee to General Manager in 8 years, and to Director in 10 years. Another went from apprentice to head of sales in around 5 years. They are now both valued long term employees.
• I think the success of a work placement is very much dependent on the quality of the mentor assigned to the student. The work placement highlighted how good one of our team members is at mentoring, teaching and encouraging others.