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  • How can your business help shape the workforce of tomorrow?

    Date published: 14 November 2017

    The Department for the Economy is inviting local businesses to register their school work experience placements and find out how students can help their company.

    Connect to Success is a free online portal for employers that exclusively advertises work experience and apprenticeship opportunities.

    The world of work is often a daunting place for young people and work experience can be seen as a way to bridge the gap between school and employment. As well as benefitting the students there can also be advantages to the business themselves. Young people can bring new and fresh ideas to companies while staff can also benefit giving by developing their own professional interpersonal skills by providing coaching and mentoring.

    School work experience has long moved on from the traditional week’s placement at a parents friend’s firm and is now a real opportunity to develop the workforce and skills available from tomorrow’s workforce.

    By helping to develop the career plans of students and by giving them an idea of the range of opportunities and roles in different industries firms can raise their community profile, creating a positive image for employees, students and parents.

    The Connect to Success portal is available to all Northern Ireland businesses to advertise opportunities. The Department for the Economy is encouraging both large and small companies to consider taking a work experience student. Placements can be anything from a few days to a week and provide an invaluable experience of the real world of work and help our young people prepare for the future.

    To register your work experience vacancy visit the Connect to Success website.

    For further advice on placements and taking on a student visit the NI Business Info website.

    Notes to editors:

    1. For further information, please contact DfE Press Office on 028 9052 9604. Out of office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07623 9743832.

    2. Follow us on Twitter @Economy_NI

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