Quick Stats
Time commitment
Planning: ~4 hrs
Delivery: up to 2 hrs
Age group
Year 7 and above
Volunteers needed
Min. 1 per
10 students
Complexity
Lower — great first step
Timetable – Workplace Visit
Example timetables
Example A
Talk & Tour
A simple guided tour with a structured opportunity for Q&A with staff.
10:00 am
Arrival and welcome
Greet students and set expectations for the day.
10:15 am
Workplace Tour
Tour guides introduce their role and department. Students rotate in small groups.
11:30 am
Q&A with staff
Structured opportunity for students to ask questions across different roles.
12:15 pm
Debrief and depart
Wrap up, collect feedback, share next steps.
💡 Delivery tips
1
10:00–10:15am is a good start time — it allows students to travel outside of rush hour.
2
Separating into smaller groups and visiting different departments in rotation works well.
3
Choose tour guides who represent a range of roles, seniority levels and backgrounds.
4
Build in time buffers between stops — tours often overrun.
Arrival
Core activity
Lunch
Debrief
Depart
Example B
Insight Day
A workplace visit with a guided tour, followed by a short taster workshop with staff.
10:00 am
Arrival and welcome
Greet students and introduce the day's structure.
10:15 am
Workplace Tour
Students visit departments in small rotating groups.
11:30 am
Taster Workshop
One activity linked to a department's work, or a carousel of shorter activities showcasing several teams.
12:45 pm
Lunch
Ideally in the staff canteen — a useful learning experience in itself.
1:30 pm
Debrief and depart
Structured reflection, feedback forms, next steps.
💡 Delivery tips
1
The taster workshop could be one activity for one department, or a carousel across several.
2
Lunch in the staff canteen gives students a genuine taste of workplace culture.
3
Keep a reserve list of staff volunteers in case of last-minute absence.
4
Ensure the room is large enough for students, volunteers and all equipment needed.
Arrival
Core activity
Lunch
Debrief
Depart
 

Conditions for Success

  • A range of staff - role and seniority. This is part of the learning experience for students

  • Time buffers built in for the tour in case some groups take longer

  • Large enough room for students, volunteers and necessary equipment (tables, chairs etc.)

  • Enough staff to have one per group - have a reserve list of staff in case of staff absence

  • Host a lunch in the canteen - this is another useful learning experience

“Describing my role and whay my department does is a really easy way to engage with students.”
“We enjoy getting to see inside a real workplace and learning what goes on there.”
“This is a simple way for our students to engage with an employer, but is highly impactful and works in any year group.”
 

Maximising impact

Additional components you could include

  • Activity Day – invite students to return to conduct a more in-depth activity linked to the job functions of your company  

  • Additional skills workshop to develop their LinkedIn profile, perhaps employing a professional photographer to take professional photographs of them so that students can evidence and demonstrate what they have learnt as part of the experience. 

  • Mentoring opportunities for particularly engaged students 

Priming and debriefing support 

  • Seek help from the school about the levels of interest/understanding of roles and jobs so you can tailor the offering  

  • Feedback with staff as to what worked well and outline improvements for future events 

  • Provide schools/colleges with information about opportunities at your organisation/in your sector which they can use in follow-up careers conversations with students 

Learning Outcomes – Workplace Visit
Introduce and Inspire

Students can describe the different types of roles within a workplace and how the curriculum can link to those roles.

Investigate and Explore

Students can use real life examples to describe different roles in an organisation.

Apply and Demonstrate

Students can see how their visit has challenged their stereotypes and raised their aspirations.