We Mean Business

Michael McDonnell, Managing Director, CIPD Ireland

About CIPD

CIPD: The largest chartered HR Professional body

Aim: To drive sustained organisation performance through HR

- Shaping Thinking

- Leading Practice

- Building HR Capability

Setting the global benchmark for HR excellence within the profession

135,000 members in 120 countries

Offices: London – Head Office

Dublin – CIPD Ireland (5,300 members)

Singapore – CIPD Asia

Work Experience Charter

Tailored to young person’s needs and circumstances

Supported, supervised and mentored

Expectations are managed

Treated as an active member of staff

Young person introduced to the structure of working life

Success is celebrated

Young person enabled to make a more informed decision about:

- future career

- find out about employment options

Open and honest feedback

Work Experience Charter

Intern expected to show:

Interest

Make most of opportunity

Willingness to learn

Respect values

Abide by rules

Organisation should have an integrated approach to young people:

Working with

Interested in

Recruiting

Developing

How Work Experience Works for Employers

Apart from making a real difference to someone’s working life, offering work experience is beneficial for organisations 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

How Work Experience Works for Young People and Society

Work experience can have a hugely positive impact on young

people’s employability and can play a significant role in attempts

to reduce youth employment.

The Role of Managers in Makingthe Placement Work

CIPD research in to employee engagement and line management highlights the behaviours as key to getting the best of out of staff:

reviewing and guiding

providing feedback, praise and recognition

providing appropriate levels of autonomy and empowerment

taking an interest in the individual

being available to talk if an employee has a question or problem

having a personal / approachable manner

It is likely that these behaviours are especially important in the management and development of young people on work experience placements, who in many cases are having their first experience in the workplace.

Best Practice:How to close the work experience placement What went well

What the job seeker found to be a challenge and how they with it

What the jobseeker enjoyed/disliked most about their placement

How they felt about adjusting to the work environment

How well they settled in and worked with colleagues

Invite the jobseeker to feed back on their impression of Serco as an organisation and the local area in which worked

If the jobseeker undertook a project as part of their work experience placement, invite them to share their findings

Encourage the jobseeker to document on the placement plan everything that they learned.

Ask the jobseeker to identify what they can use from the placement experience to update their CV.

Source: Serco Group

Best Practice:How to make your placement a success

Engaging hearts and minds of managers

Leading by example

Involvement of business co-ordinators and line managers

A simplified and structured approach for line managers and business co-ordinators

Standardisation of processes and schedules

CIPD Ireland’s new Internship Guide for Employers

Michael McDonnellManaging Director, CIPD Ireland

T (+353 1) 6624 279michael.mcdonnell@cipd.ie