Workshop Work Experience

The time will come once your electrical repair business is up and coming when someone will ask you to take a young person for work experience. You may have had experience of this yourself – it may have been what encouraged you to go into the trade that has paid you so well. How can you best look out for the youngster now in your charge?

Should I Take on a Work Experience Person

It may be that a colleague has a teenage child that is interested in work experience in an electrical business. Schools also contact businesses to see if they will take on children for work experience. If you are contacted do not dismiss it out of hand but instead consider how you could take a teenager into your workshop for several weeks and give them a taste of working for an electrical business in your workshop.

Agree Hours of Work

Do not expect a child to come into your workshop and work the same hours as the rest of your staff. It may be a bit of a culture shock! If the child, the school and the child’s parents are keen then you could consider it, but if not perhaps five or six hours each day would be sufficient.

Do I Pay a Person on Work Experience?

When parents or schools find work experience placements for young people they do not expect the youngster to be paid. Some companies do take advantage of these situations and get two weeks work out of a young person for nothing. Why not pay the youngster the basic rate for the hours they work? This will encourage the teenager to think of this placement in your workshop as a proper job and both you and the young person will gain from the experience.

Workshop Duties

Taking on a young person for work experience in your workshop does not mean that you give them all the dirty work such as cleaning out the stock room and washing the vans. The youngsters need to get a taste of every aspect of your electrical business that is run from the workshop. Set out a plan of work for the two weeks so that the youngster gets to serve customers, work in the office, the workshop and perhaps go out on house calls as well. Treat him or her as part of the workforce in your workshop and you will be repaid with an enthusiastic worker.

Reporting Back to School

You will no doubt have to speak to a teacher or someone from the youngster’s school during the work experience period to tell them how the young person is getting along. There will also be some paperwork to complete to give information on what the young person did during their time in your workshop.

Talking to a Trainee or Apprentice

You may already have a trainee or apprentice in your workshop so get them to meet each other so that your trainee can tell the youngster all about the training aspect of working in your workshop and an electrical business. You may find that the youngster is really worth taking on when he or she leaves school and becoming a permanent part of your workshop staff.