Reconnect - Improving Work Experience

Kent County Council is looking to procure a service that meets the objectives of the Economic Wellbeing Theme within the Reconnect Programme, as stated below.

Work Experience (WEX) declined dramatically over the Covid period and is still very limited as most companies are focussing on getting back on their feet not on supporting the community. Young people are often ill prepared for work experience and do not fully benefit from the opportunities. To mitigate the detrimental effects of Covid this needs to be improved. We wish to procure a project that improves the quality and quantity of work experience in schools.

Aims: To build capacity in education by providing CPD and ongoing support to schools to develop their delivery of Work Experience. This will be linked to the Ofsted inspection framework and support the delivery of the Personal Development strand in schools. To provide young people training opportunities on how to prepare for WEX and maximise its benefits. To provide access for young people to a range of online and real world WEX opportunities in a supported way. To promote the benefits of Work Experience to Kent businesses.

Details: Timescales - To start ASAP and continue for the maximum allowed period (31 August 2022). Much of the support would remain beyond this in the form of training materials, webinars etc remaining available online. Location - countywide. Mainly virtual with some in person opportunities.

Delivery model, including number of students/institutions impacted We envisage two tiers of support, one intensive and one more self-directed. There will also be a need for some specialist support for vulnerable learners in schools and those not in education: Tier 1 - direct support to schools and access to real world placements Approximately 15 Mainstream Schools,5 special schools Tier 2 - 30 schools minimum Access to online/face to face training package and resources covering preparation for work experience, maximising the benefits, embedding in a school. Access to online and face to face work experience opportunities for students. Specialist Support Vulnerable learners often require additional support. We would like suppliers to offer additional direct support to these young people: Additional support for vulnerable learners in special schools in tier 1 and 2 - including interviews and preparation sessions to ensure they succeed in placements. 300 places for vulnerable students countywide for vulnerable students approaching the project directly. They will require support to find placements, prepare for them and maximise benefits