It’s quite evident that the younger generation was severely affected by the lockdowns and the pandemic. And, even as the world is still staggering to readjust to what happens to be the newly found situation, many are still enduring the effects caused by these lockdowns.
There was a strain in the natural course of the education of young people and social interaction was as well inhibited by the restrictions that followed suit with the pandemic.
When one would have thought it couldn’t be worse than it already was, important milestones such as examinations and several vital opportunities eluded many youths. Aiming at accomplishing a satisfactory work experience irrespective of what happens in the society, a charity initiative; Speakers For Schools, launched by Robert Peston in 2010 has risen to the occasion and tabled a viable solution to help youths thrive again — online work experience.
Without violating the imposed restrictions consequential to the pandemic, students can now be professionally actively involved in their fields by taking advantage of virtual work experience; a lifeline which they’ve been presented with to ease the pain caused by the incessant lockdowns.
Nowadays, virtual work experience programmes are rapidly replacing many traditional placements and you would firmly agree because this is very obvious.
Several businesses now enjoy a fine opportunity of revamping their early outreach endeavours because of the latest model for virtual delivery. Compared to traditional setups, the effectiveness of the online work experience is getting observed by more companies since the business operation norm most companies are drifting to now is remote working. The popularity of the virtual work experience is surging!
How Fast Companies in the UK are Adopting Virtual Work Experience
A survey on the connection between the recent job placements and the pandemic was carried out by Speakers for Schools and recent data or reports emerging from the results have been released. In the UK, there is an increase of 5,890 placements available between April 2020 and March 2021 compared to the year before.
Distributed across several geolocations, around 71 per cent of these placements were virtual work experience, and this goes to show the proportion rate of how online work experience is getting adapted to. That is not all, in England, you’ll find that there are 13,624 more placement opportunities, and virtual work experience opportunities take up a minimum of seventy per cent of work placements in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Over the past year, there has been an increment of 1,834 placements in the construction industry. More so, during this same period, the hospital and healthcare sector experienced an increase of up to nearly 1,335 job placements.
During the pandemic, there was a growing need for more workers at health centres and hospitals, and several fresh graduates in the associated fields have taken advantage of the opportunity to develop work experience.
School leavers hoping to become more attractive to employers in related sectors and improve the look of their CVs can bask from the benefits of working with a big, popular, and reputable brand. During the pandemic, the placements on offer were considerably increased by reputable companies like Severn Trent Water and Cisco. To include, even the prestigious Spotify situated in London welcomed a massive increment in offered placement opportunities.
Virtual Work Experience and What the Future Looks Like
Students can improve their CV, get a better knowledge and be taught about workplace etiquette, and be prepared for the working world with school work experience. Students and school leavers can enjoy more insights into their career development with the opportunities provided, get their skill sets improved, and be furnished with enhanced confidence with the series of tangible things they gain from work experience.
The journey to professionalism for school leavers isn’t usually an easy one but with online work experience, things can be made way easier for them.
In search of work experience, travel and accommodation fees are costs that many students can’t afford when opting in for traditional work experience. But the beautiful thing about virtual work experience is that the location boundary is out of the challenges to be faced. Travel-related activities are just getting opened up and in times like this; with this situation the world is facing, the significance of virtual work experience cannot be downplayed.
Unlike the times when location used to be a pain and a major hindrance to getting placements, many students are now benefiting from online opportunities.
Northern Irish students are fine examples of this situation as they can now take advantage of placements at famous organizations that are not within Ireland. Students are effectively getting adjusted to the ‘new normal’ with the provision of remote work experience, irrespective of the effects caused by the pandemic on the education of students.
Without being bothered or inhibited by lockdown limitations, fresh graduates can easily take the progressive steps in their potential careers by deploying technology. Additionally, online learning is now getting implemented by several companies and online learning is fast becoming the method by which several companies conduct their compliance training.
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