Work experience

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Work experience is the experience that a person has working, or working in a specific field or occupation.

The phrase is sometimes used to mean a type of volunteer work that is commonly intended for young people - often students - to get a feel for professional working environments. This usage is common in the United Kingdom (the American equivalent is intern). Though the placements are usually unpaid, travel and food expenses are sometimes covered, and at the end of the appointment, a character reference is usually provided. The trainee usually has the opportunity to network and make contacts among the working personnel, and put themselves forward for any forthcoming opportunities for paid work.

However, in competitive freelance industries, the demand for placements can often be overwhelming. Though many people have professionally benefited from this type of experience, it’s advisable for persons to consider the financial implications of a placement -- there is a gentlemen’s agreement that it should never last more than one month -- and how exactly they would get their effort's worth once it’s over in the correct give and take relationship.

Work experience is offered on the national curriculum for students in Year 10 in the United Kingdom (4th year in Scotland) and Australia. Often, the students are given placements by the school without the student having a choice. If a student fails to find a placement then they may sometimes be forced to attend school everyday aiding the caretaker, or helping out elsewhere in the school, such as with language departments or with ICT technicians. Recent regulations restricted the availability of locations as students are not prohibited from working at a company outside the conurbation of the city or abroad. Safety checks on the companies are now more thorough and students who arrange placements at failed companies are forced to find a new placement. Students are not permitted from working at companies with an employee count below 5 due to insurance problems. This often ruled out small shops which were run by the student's relatives or friends. It is not banned for the employee to pay the student however it is not encouraged. These regulations do not apply to people who take work experience when it is not compulsory.

Many employers in the more sought after professions (eg TV, politics, journalism) demand that every new entrant undergo a period of unpaid "work experience" before being able to get paid work. In most cases this is, in effect, "experience through work" and as such is, if unpaid, contrary to the Minimum Wage regulations. Such is the demand for this kind of work that very few complain about this and so the practice continues.

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