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Guidance

Work experience: employer guide

How Jobcentre Plus can help employers provide a positive experience of work for jobseekers and develop local talent and skills.

Updates to this page

From:
Department for Work and Pensions
Published:
1 July 2012
Last updated:
2 June 2026
Show all updates

  1. Updated the length of the placement which can now be between 1 and 8 weeks

  2. Updated the How it works section of the employer guide to revise the placement duration from between 2 and 8 weeks to between 1 and 8 weeks.

  3. Textphone details removed and Relay UK details added to 'Work experience: employer guide' and 'Profiad Gwaith: Canllaw i gyflogwyr'.

  4. Added work experience skills sheet and work experience reference template. Updated Work experience: employer guide attachment.

  5. Updated guidance to remove out of date references to 3 month work experience placements under the 'Youth Obligation'.

  6. Amended wording about the length of placements to say that they can last up to 3 months for some young people.

  7. Removed outdated PDF guidance and replaced with an up-to-date HTML guide.

  8. First published.

Documents

Work experience: employer guide

HTML

Work experience skills sheet

PDF, 99.1 KB, 1 page

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email accessible.formats@dwp.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Work experience reference template

PDF, 77.3 KB, 2 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email accessible.formats@dwp.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

Work experience organised by Jobcentre Plus enables young, unemployed people to volunteer for placements lasting between 1 and 8 weeks, or longer (up to 3 months) for some young people. It’s open to young people who are aged 16 to 24 years old and, in some cases, people aged 25 and over who don’t have any recent work history.

This Jobcentre Plus guidance for employers includes:

  • an introduction to work experience organised by Jobcentre Plus
  • why you should get involved
  • how it works
  • how to become a work experience host through Jobcentre Plus
  • how to support work experience participants
  • where to get further information

The work experience skills sheet is for employers and participants. Use it to note any skills demonstrated and developed during a work placement. There is also a column for skills that the participant wants or needs to continue developing.

The work experience reference is a template for employers to fill out after a placement. This is to give the participant a reference to use.

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