What are the 7 work experience models?

Click on each of the models below for more details:

Modern Work Experience Models

Lower complexity

Higher complexity

Single day events

Block placement

Other formats

Model 1 · Single Day Event

Workplace Visit / Insight Day

Bring students into your workplace for a guided tour and the chance to meet a range of your staff. An ideal starter activity — easy to replicate and highly impactful for young people with limited experience of the world of work.

⏱ Time commitment

Planning: ~4 hrs · Delivery: up to 2 hrs

👥 Age group

Year 7 and above

🙋 Volunteers

Min. 1 per 10 students

📊 Complexity

Lower — great first step

What's involved

A workplace tour led by staff across different departments
Q&A sessions where guides explain their role
Optional: taster workshop or carousel of short activities
Lunch in the staff canteen — a learning experience in itself

Keys to success

Offer a range of staff by role, seniority and background
Build in time buffers — tours often overrun
Keep a reserve list of staff in case of absence

What people say

"Describing my role and what my department does is a really easy way to engage with students."

"Simple but highly impactful — it works well with any year group."

Want to explore this model in more detail?

See full guidance and example timetables →

Model 2 · Single Day Event

Careers / Enterprise Activity Day

A structured day of activities in your workplace built around a particular theme. Staff engage more fully with students using real work skills, while developing their own too. Easily replicable once delivered.

⏱ Time commitment

Half day or full day

👥 Age group

Any year group

🙋 Volunteers

Varies by format

📊 Complexity

Medium — replicable once set up

What's involved

An overarching challenge or theme that structures the day
Option A: Business challenge day with a central project and pitch
Option B: Departmental rotations — students move between teams
Plenary or prize-giving session to round off the day

Keys to success

Brief staff in advance and assign a lead for each activity
Liaise with school so students can prepare in advance
Include a proper conclusion — prizes or a review activity

What people say

"Staff welcome opportunities to network and share skills with colleagues."

"We enjoy taking part in real-life examples of the work the employer does."

Want to explore this model in more detail?

See full guidance and example timetables →

Model 3 · Single Day Event

Workplace Safari

A careers showcase bringing together multiple employers in your local area. Students experience a breadth of different workplaces while your staff get to network with colleagues from other organisations.

⏱ Time commitment

~4 hours including planning

👥 Age group

Year 7 and above

🙋 Volunteers

Depends on no. of employers

📊 Complexity

Medium — requires coordination

What's involved

Students rotate between sessions with different employers or clients
Each employer runs a short activity repeated to each group
Option A: Local safari — students physically visit each employer
Option B: Client safari — clients come to you, students rotate between rooms

Keys to success

Meet with all companies in advance to ensure coherency
A variety of employers and roles makes the day richer
Build in enough transition time between sessions

What people say

"Staff enjoy networking with other companies and interacting with clients."

"A perfect way for students to experience a number of different employers in one visit."

Want to explore this model in more detail?

See full guidance and example timetables →

Model 4 · Block Placement

Work Experience Block Placement

Students spend days or weeks working in your organisation alongside employees. The most in-depth model — seeing real progress develop across the placement is rewarding for staff and students alike.

⏱ Time commitment

1 day to several weeks

👥 Age group

Yr 10+ (best Yr 12/13)

🙋 Volunteers

1:1 supervision

📊 Complexity

Higher — most immersive

What's involved

Induction on day one — treat students like a new starter
Shadowing and assisting with real tasks day to day
Option A: One week work-shadowing within a single team
Option B: Three-day skills-based programme for small groups
End-of-placement debrief with structured feedback

Keys to success

Liaise with schools around 3 months before placement
Ensure health and safety/insurance procedures are in place
Rotate students across different departments where possible

What people say

"The three-day programme lets us offer more students the chance, while staff still develop their own skills."

"Work experience is vital for our students — we really appreciate companies that offer these programmes."

Want to explore this model in more detail?

See full guidance and example timetables →

Model 5 · Other Format

Virtual Encounter

Career chats or a virtual tour of your company — ideal for reaching schools not in easy travelling distance, or for engaging with a much larger number of students at once.

⏱ Time commitment

~1 hour

👥 Age group

Any year group

🙋 Volunteers

1+ (more for panels)

📊 Complexity

Lower — great reach

What's involved

Option A: Career chat — staff volunteer talks about their career, then Q&A
Option B: Virtual tour — online walkthrough of your workplace
Students join from school during class time
Can include a quiz, panel, or application support activity

Keys to success

Check IT compatibility with the school in advance
Do a test run before the live session
Share staff bios with the school so students can prepare questions

What people say

"Such an easy way to engage with students and introduce them to our jobs and workplace."

"We really like hearing about lots of different careers — not just those in our local area."

Want to explore this model in more detail?

See full guidance and example timetables →

Model 6 · Other Format

Mentoring

Regular, personalised support for individual students or small groups — virtually or in-person. Staff mentors develop their own skills while seeing genuine, ongoing progress in the students they support.

⏱ Time commitment

Mentor: ~2 hrs/month · Organiser: ~15 min/student

👥 Age group

Year 12 and 13

🙋 Volunteers

1:1 or small groups

📊 Complexity

Higher — sustained programme

What's involved

Welcome session bringing mentors and students together
Monthly meetings (in-person or online) over an academic year
Mentors provided with a handbook including safeguarding guidance
Closing celebration event to mark the end of the programme

Keys to success

School must allocate a staff member to oversee the project
Train mentors before the programme begins
Encourage mentors to share learnings with each other

What people say

"We enjoy working more intensely with students over an extended period. Seeing their progress is rewarding."

"The personalised support from employees really boosts our confidence in the workplace."

Want to explore this model in more detail?

See full guidance and example timetables →

Model 7 · Other Format

Multi-Stage Project

A larger project running over several months — an enterprise competition where student teams develop a business idea, or a pipeline programme guiding students toward applying to one of your schemes.

⏱ Time commitment

Several months

👥 Age group

Any year group

🙋 Volunteers

Coaches + panel judges

📊 Complexity

Higher — most sustained

What's involved

Option A: Enterprise competition — students create a business idea over 10 weeks, coached by your staff, with a finale at your workplace
Option B: Pipeline project — staged events guiding students toward applying to your schemes (e.g. apprenticeships)
Launch and closing events can be held at your workplace

Keys to success

Be clear with staff about time commitments from the start
Strong school engagement is essential — students work independently
Include current apprentices or junior staff to talk at events
Your role is to guide — allow students to learn through trial and error

What people say

"We enjoy developing our coaching skills while getting to know a small group of students."

"These projects are so engaging — real-world experience and valuable support with next steps."

Want to explore this model in more detail?

See full guidance and example timetables →

Understanding why you want to engage with schools will help you choose the right model and get the most out of it.

Activity day
- Larger activities with multiple volunteers
Workplace Safari
- External networking
Workplace Safari
- Collaboration with local SMEs
Multi-stage project
- Sustained contact leads to deeper connection, can have locally beneficial project objective
Workplace safari
- Partner engagement
Block placement
- Opportunity for “line management” experience for junior staff
Mentoring
- Mentor training

Visit/insight day
- Light commitment for simple morale boost
Activity day
- Medium commitment for high morale boost
Mentoring
- Deeper satisfaction through sustained contact
Block placement
- Establish longer term connection
Virtual session
- Accessible application related sessions
Mentoring
- Support potential applicants
Multi-stage project
- Develop key skills for your sector
Activity day
- Accessible structured introduction to students for multiple staff through simple activities
Block placement
- Include presentation or case study dimension
Mentoring
- Get to know individuals and challenges they face

Visit/insight day
- Reach high numbers of students
Virtual session
- Reach high numbers, engage beyond locality and those less likely to attend in person
Visit/insight day
- Reach high numbers of students
Workplace safari
- Highlight brand to other local employers
Virtual session
- Reach high numbers of students
Multi-stage project
- Link project to brand and build in publicity dimension e.g. competition
Block placement
- Assign market research task as part of placement
Multi-stage project
- Build in market research dimension

Models map

What are the 7 work experience models?

Understanding why you want to engage with schools will help you choose the right model and get the most out of it.

Contact us: mwex@causeway.education
07867 490 633

Models map

What are the 7 work experience models?

Understanding why you want to engage with schools will help you choose the right model and get the most out of it.

Internal networking

Local investment

Staff development

Staff wellbeing / employee offer

Recruitment pipeline (sector interest & skills)

EDI awareness

Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) priorities

Brand awareness

Market research

Contact us: mwex@causeway.education 07867 490 633

Contact us: mwex@causeway.education
07867 490 633