ABSTRACT

This chapter explores the importance of work experience to the individual but also evidence of the value that employers derive from offering more work experience, and barriers to its provision. The importance of work experience, whether in paid part-time teenage employment or mediated through an educational institution to a successful transition into the labour market, cannot be understated. One of the key steps proposed by the current UK Government to engendering greater employer ownership of skills is establishing employer owned and run partnerships. The UK Commission's Employer Perspectives Survey also provides the reasons that employers give for offering work experience. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) is a publicly funded, industry-led organisation providing strategic leadership on skills and employment issues in the four home nations of the United Kingdom. The Employer Skills Survey (ESS) provides detailed information at a sectoral and spatial level on the nature of recruitment and skills.