T-Level placements

T-Levels are full-time courses for 16 to 18 year olds that focus on a specific type of career. They contain a work placement element plus academic study and are the equivalent of three A-Levels.

Young people who opt for T-Levels are clear about the types of careers they want to go into. They need a work placement with an employer as a mandatory part of their course.

What's needed

A T-Level placement should be at least 45 days (315 hours) and in the industry or job chosen by the student.

Typically, you will host a student for one day per week for 45 weeks, but this can vary.

We'd like to create T-Level placements in the following areas:

• Digital production, design and development (software and web)
• Digital support
• Data technician
• Early Years
• Assistant accountant
• Business and admin

Get involved

If you think you can offer a young person a T-Level option, please fill in our online form se we can get in touch.

Supported internships

Supported internships are for young people with a learning difficulty or disability. They help them to grow the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed for them to get into work.

These programmes run for one college year and is a partnership between the college and the employer.

We know that all young people face challenges in finding employment. For young people with SEND however, finding a job is even more complex. Just 6% are in paid employment despite the fact that 65% want to work (Health and Social Care Information Centre, Annual Report 2015/16).

On the job work and supported internships can help.  These are all ways of helping young people with SEND to move from education into employment. As well as spending time with the employer, young people complete a tailored study programme. This includes the chance to study for vital qualifications, if needed, as well as English and maths.

The business case

Finding new ways to inspire, recruit, retain and engage employees is vital for all businesses.

Many young people want to work. Nearly every business has roles that are suitable for a young person with a disability. This may free up employees to focus on other business areas. Supported internships are good for your business because:

• Young people with disabilities are loyal, committed employees.
• Employee engagement rises – helping others brings the best out of people.
• Customers are inspired and value what you give back to their area.
• Stakeholders view you highly and your business reputation is increased.
• Employees have increased confidence and awareness.
• There are more leadership and coaching skills options.
• You'll discover skill levels that don’t exist in normal talent pools.

Supported internships are unpaid because the student is in full time education. They last for a minimum of six months. Wherever possible, they help the young person to move into paid employment at the end of the programme. We understand this might not always be possible, but it will equip students with valuable skills. It will also give them a reference when applying for future employment and develop confidence and competence in work.

Support

Job coaches attend the internship with the young person. This happens until they're confident enough to do the work on their own.

This support can be in place for anything from a few weeks to the end of the work placement.  This depends on the person’s needs.

Our partners

We're proud to partner with Barnsley College and Barnsley Hospital to support our first DFN Project Search. The ten interns are doing really well and most have already secured paid employment.

The project supports young people aged 17 to 24 with autism and extra learning needs. It helps them take steps towards securing meaningful, long-term employment.

Get involved

Read more about the supported internship programme and find out who to contact if you'd like to get involved.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are a great way for you to  help someone to gain work experience and qualifications. It helps them to build their competency in a chosen field of work.

It's a chance for you to shape and grow employees in line with your organisational culture. It creates a pipeline of talent.

Benefits

• It's a cost effective way to grow talent. Council apprentices get paid £6.83 per hour for the first 12 months. After a year, this goes to the national minimum wage.
• They improve your business. 86% of employers report benefiting from 'the development of skills relevant to the business' by hiring them.
• These roles support succession planning. Many services have an ageing workforce. They're a great way to attract and grow young talent.

What it involves

• 80% on the job, 20% learning and development. An apprentice spends the equivalent of 80% of their time working. They then spend 20% of their time focussing on their college work. This includes doing training and gaining qualifications.
• Working with the apprenticeship provider and the apprentice. They'll get chances at work that'll help them complete their apprenticeship.
• One to two years. Apprenticeships normally last between 12 to 24 months.

You don't have to retain the apprentice once they complete their apprenticeship. In most cases services look to do so.

You can also progress the apprentice to the next level after completion.

Managers at Barnsley Council taking on an apprentice will be helped by our Lead Pastoral Mentor. They'll oversee their progress.

Get involved

We have a wealth of knowledge and resources to make it simple and straightforward to create apprenticeship roles.

To find out more, please contact our apprenticeship team.

Work experience

Gaining valuable work experience really does help people to develop and prepare for a job.

We receive lots of requests from young people who are studying and would benefit from work experience. This can be from people at college level through to undergraduates and postgraduates.

General work experience

A general work experience placement can be paid or unpaid; short-term (one to two weeks) or long-term (12 months); for school or higher education students.

All work experience placements are used to allow young people to experience the world of work. It means they can learn about the skills employers are looking for and develop their knowledge to inform career planning. They are brilliant ways for young people to adjust to the routines and habits of working life. It also gives them the chance to learn about the behaviours expected of people in the workplace.

If you can offer an option for general work experience, you can help a young person start their career.

Paid work experience

We have the opportunity to offer paid work experience to our cohort in a variety of sectors. This is fully funded and the wages are paid through the Inclusive Offer.

Placements range from three to nine months and can be full time or part time dependant on the needs of the service and the individuals.

There is no expectation that you employ the person after - although many of our managers do. The idea is to give a good, varied experience of work, fantastic references and training to kickstart the young person's working life.

Support is offered to the young person and the manager through the pastoral mentor. Training is available to any of the managers who are looking to host a paid work placement.

If you could offer a paid work placement please get in touch.

Career events

We have several events each year that are a mixture of in person and virtual.  They focus around a range of different careers. At these events, services can take part to talk about their field of work.  Also what it’s like and how they got into it.

These events are great at reaching a wide people and help to inform people’s career choices.

Get involved

Can you offer general or paid work experience? Please fill in our form to be part of the Inclusive Offer.

Young person takeover

Research shows that work experience is a critical factor in raising aspirations. It also helps motivation and shapes future career choices. Young people who have completed work experience often earn £1,000 per year more on average. This is compared to those who don't do any form of work experience.

We aim to provide an excellent offer for our care experienced children and young people. As part of this, we can offer a young person takeover. This can be at any point in the year that works for the care experienced person.

What a young person takeover is

A young person takeover allows any care experienced child or young person access up to three different types of work within the council.

Young people from the age of 14 up to 24 (year 10 upwards) can choose from various work and job shadowing roles. These can be within the council or with external employers we work with. We'll offer incentives such as paid travel to work and Love2Shop vouchers up to the value of £80 to encourage take up.

Get involved

Can you offer a work shadowing experience for a care experienced young person? Please fill in our form to be part of the Inclusive Offer.

Wider support

People from certain groups are more at risk of not being active in the economy. If we can provide people with extra support, we can help them to benefit from work. We can also help them to think about their future, develop their skills and enable them to progress towards employment.

Some of the groups the Inclusive Offer supports include:

• care leavers
• adults and young people with learning difficulties or disabilities
• young people who have been through Youth Justice System
• people aged 16 to 19 who aren’t in education, employment or training.

We work with the different services to make sure that they're ready for the openings that are created through the Inclusive Offer.

Get involved

If you think you could offer an opportunity, please fill in our form to be part of our inclusive offer.

Preparing for a placement

As an inclusive employer, you'll be working with adults and young people who may be at risk. They may:

• Have learning difficulties or disabilities.
• Have been through the Youth Justice System.
• Be living with anxiety and depression.

Managers should be aware of the needs of the young people they are engaging with. This will make sure the interview process a positive event.

• The interview needs to be a supportive process where the key focus is about assessing potential.
• The interview should be a chat, allowing young people to show their potential and their true self.
• The focus should be getting the best from the candidates. This will allow you to see if the young person will fit into the role and the company.
• Young people with additional needs or a lack of experience may need more time. They also might need prompting to expand on their own skills and interests.
• Some young people may lack work experience, but they may well have a wealth of knowledge, ideas and skills. Managers will need to draw these out during an interview. Young people are ideally placed to fill the digital skills gap, which has been a key driver for economic recovery.
• Some young people can be resilient and determined, whilst others may be reserved, anxious, self-conscious, or lacking self-esteem. It's important for managers to ensure all young people are encouraged to highlight their skills. This can be done through a supportive, chatty approach.

Further reading

NHS Employers have a toolkit of practical, bite-sized guides to support recruitment and retention of young people in the NHS.

Reed recruitment have a guide to interviewing techniques that will help you conduct great interviews.

Derbyshire County Council have a useful guide about how to interview effectively.

Youth Employment UK interview tips

Barnsley Council interview tips are useful whether the young person is applying to the council or not. We also have more specific application help for those applying for jobs at the council.

Autism Wales has a several guides to employing an autistic person, including interview advice.