You could make a big difference in the life of a young person. You can influence their experience of working life, and even the career they choose. You are essential to their future.

Workplace learning - known as work experience - provides the opportunity for young people to learn about the world of work through hands-on, immersive experiences in the workplace.

It allows for students to then make informed choices about their career pathways and decisions about further training, like vocational education and training (VET) and tertiary education.

Through your support of young people, you can nurture future talent for South Australia. Skilled young people in their transition from school to employment create the pipeline of high-quality future employees.

If you're a business or organisations that host students for workplace learning, you are known in the system as a workplace learning provider.

The Department for Education has a page about the different types of workplace learning. Visit this page for extra information or resources. The basics are summarised below:

Work experience: short-term placement where students learn about the world of work, build employability skills, and use their experience to make informed decisions about their future pathways. Tasks may include work shadowing and observation, assisting staff with tasks, problem-based learning (where you give the student a problem to solve or project to complete while on placement.

Structured workplace learning for VET: required for some students as part of their vocational education and training (VET) courses. During placement, students are trained and assessed against the competencies of their VET qualification in the workplace. This is negotiated between the student, their registered training organisation and their school before placement.

Work trial for an apprenticeship or traineeship: an opportunity for students to demonstrate their readiness and engagement to a potential employer before an apprenticeship or traineeship is offered. These are designed to see if the student is a ‘good fit’ within the culture and activities of the workplace as an employee. Work trials should be organised for a pre-determined, limited time that is enough for the student to demonstrate potential for the job. This can be a paid or unpaid placement, at the discretion of the employer. The placement should be completed within regular school or business hours and should reflect the general arrangements of the industry (no more than 8 hours per day with scheduled breaks).

The school principal (or delegate) will provide the final approval for workplace learning to begin. As part of the school's due diligence, they will confirm the student has demonstrated readiness to start their placement.

This process for students includes:

• completing safe work training (WHS) - free online training (WorkStart) provided by the education department. Students learn about safe work practices, how to report and address hazards, and what to do if they are unsure or feel unsafe. For more information, speak with the student's school

• completing any necessary checks before they start - such as working with children and vulnerable people

• completing curriculum work focused on careers, industries, pathways and further education.

• The Workplace Learning Agreement form must be completed by the student, their school, their parent/caregiver, and your workplace before workplace learning can start. All sections of the form must be completed. The final signature must be provided by the school principal (or delegate) to comply with legal and policy requirements. See below about insurance details.

• Talk to your employees about their potential role in helping the student's placement succeed, including what they can do to help the student's specific workplace learning tasks

• Plan a site induction for the student for their first day of work (or before). Make sure you cover any hazards or safe work expectations, plus essentials like bathrooms and break times.

• Notify the student of any extra requirements you might have for their first day of work, such as a uniform, PPE, and additional training.

• Hours of work - students are expected to participate in workplace learning during normal school hours, reflecting a typical working day of an employee. The hours of work need to be agreed by the student, their school, their parent/caregiver, and the workplace on the Workplace Learning Agreement form. If the placement includes school holidays or weekends, the school is required to have a contactable person to maintain duty of care responsibilities.

• Payment - it's not recommended that students are paid while on workplace learning because the purpose of their placement is to learn about work and build employability skills. If payment is provided, this can change the nature of the arrangement between the student and your workplace. You may choose to provide payment to students, but this is at your discretion.

• The student is responsible for planning their travel to and from your workplace on time. If travel is required during their working day in work vehicles, this should be recorded on the Workplace Learning Agreement form.

• Give the student opportunities to learn about work and try new tasks based on their skill level or readiness.

• Keep your expectations high, and also give them opportunities to learn and develop the skills they'll need for work and adult life.

• Report on the student's progress when the school visits or calls them.

• For students completing VET - Work with the RTO and trainer to report on student progress and identify areas of potential growth.

• Accidents, injury and insurance - all workplace learning students enrolled in public schools are covered by a personal accident insurance scheme. This is funded and administered by the Department for Education. This also applies to interstate placements.

• Students are covered by insurance if they are hurt at work as long as they are doing the approved workplace learning program outlined in the Workplace Learning Agreement form. This is why it's important that the form is completed before the student begins their placement.

• Students may not be covered by insurance if the injury or damage was the result of their negligence, recklessness, or failure to follow clear and reasonable instructions.

• Ambulance costs are primarily the responsibility of the student and their parent/caregiver. Those who are covered under private insurance should contact their insurer to recover costs. Where a student does not have private cover, they can make a request for payment by the education department.

• The Department for Education recommends that workplaces consider their own insurance arrangements when completing the Workplace Learning Agreement form, before taking on a student.

• For more information, contact the student's school.

• Contribute to a report for the student if requested - the requirements may be different for different students.

• Consider how other students could be supported in your workplace and let the school know if you're open to more students doing a work placement in the future.