Virtual Work Experience and Free online courses

 

Virtual Work Experience is relatively new to all of us and became popular and necessary during COVID-19.  It has become a good way of allowing students to access experience in holidays and through work placements. 

Virtual Work Experience will support students in gaining work experience in an area that they might not normally have the opportunity to see.  This is a unique opportunity and will hopefully give our students an insight into the skills required for certain careers or in different employment sectors.

Below are a number of Virtual Work Experiences available. They cover a huge range of careers and employment sectors.

Below is a link to an excellent article for Parents and Carers about Virtual Work Experience for their children:

• The Parent's Guide to Website - Virtual Work Experience - why it might help your child to stand out

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/collections/futurelearn-schools

These courses usually run over a few weeks but if you sign up to one of these you will need to complete it.

 

The forage https://www.theforage.com/

• To find out what virtual work experience entails, as well as finding out what companies are offering it at the moment, click here.
• Barclays Life Skills offer work experience, and it's free to sign up to find out what they are offering.  Click here to find out more about this.
• Brighton and Sussex Medical School – becoming a Doctor
  Have you thought about maybe becoming a Doctor or studying medicine? Work experience is an incredibly important part of this and it is essential that you start preparing yourself early. Brighton and Sussex Medical School have put together a wonderful opportunity for all who are considering medicine to gain some valuable work experience with them.  They offer up to 30 hours work experience, and provide you with a certificate of completion.           
• STEM/Engineering work experience; Jacobs Juniors work experience will give you the opportunity to gain virtual work experience with a real, very successful company. You will tasked with designing a coronavirus research facility. You will be introduced to a wide range of STEM subjects.  They provide up to 10 hours work experience and provide a certificate of completion.   
• Architecture work experience; Halliday Fraser Munroe  This would be ideal for Year 10 and 12 students, but you really need to have a passion for Architecture.This is a real company, who are running a fantastic work experience programme online. You will complete 2 tasks including designing a house for a celebrity.  If you submit your files you will be able to obtain a certificate
• Open University- Open learn courses.  These courses are provided free.  Click here to find out what they offer.  Examples of courses are; forensics, social work, caring in hospitals,primary school education

• Observe a GP; virtual medical work experience.  Observe GP is an initiative which was set up by the Royal College of General Practitioners which is a professional body within the UK for GPs. Observe GP is a free system that was created for the purpose of giving every medical applicant a fair chance at gaining work experience.  
• Law Work experience; register with White & Case where it will allow you to gain first-hand insight into life as a White & Case lawyer and experience the realities of cross-border law.
• Jacksons Law Firm are also providing virtual work experience in their law firms.  Click here to find out more.
• Cyber security; sign up now to find out more about cyber security through their virtual work experience. 
• Design and Marketing; Hunter Bevan are offering work experience virtually with an opportunity to feature on their website!
• Inside Sherpa; offers virtual work experience placements from a range of companies, from banking to careers in tech. Most options last up to six hours and involve tutorials, videos and activities. Click here to register.
• Invest Education are offering different opportunities for work experience for different age groups;
  • Ages 15-18 Weekend programmes available here
  • Ages 15-18 Autumn internships during half term available here
• Architecture Work Experience
• Halliday Fraser Munro
• Halliday Fraser Munro are an award winning design practice offering architectural services and planning with offices around the UK. They offer two different work experience placements. The first is for Design, students will complete a task and learn how to use SketchUp.
• The second placement is Technical work experience, students will complete a task and learn how to use Revit to design and construct a new-build.
• Banking Work Experience
• Barclays
• Barclays bank are offering a virtual work experience programme called LifeSkills. LifeSkills simulates a day in a ‘digital transformation agency’ and helps you to explore the range of different jobs available in that industry, and learn what the bank does.
• Business/Economics Work Experience
• PWC
• PWC’s virtual case experience is aimed at students studying business, economics, maths, IT, and life sciences. The programme lets you tackle an audit case to experience PWC’s work, and gives you an insight into a career in audit, covering auditing, strategic planning, materiality, financial statements, fraudulent activities, and trade receivables .
• Consulting Work Experience
• BCG
• BCG (Boston Consulting Group) are a prestigious American management consulting firm, and are running two virtual experience programmes for students.
• The BCG Design virtual experience programme gives students the chance to take on practical tasks, similar to what designers at BCG do on a daily basis. The programme gives students an insight into solving challenges and how you can learn from BCG designers. The programme consists of two modules; Strategic Design and Experience Design.
• The BCG Strategy Consulting virtual experience program gives students a feel for what it’d be like to work as a strategy consultant at BCG. During the programme you’ll complete a variety of tasks on different topics such as market research, data analysis foundations and modelling, client recommendations and understanding consumer needs.
• Digital Technology and Data Work Experience
• ANZ (Australian Company)
• The Data@ANZ virtual internship program is perfect for students thinking about a career in data. The program covers exploratory data analysis and predictive analysis, and takes 5-6 hours to complete. You will also discover more about what a career in data could entail, build real skills, and gain access to exclusive opportunities such as hackathons.
• The Cyber@ANZ virtual experience program is aimed at students thinking of working in cybersecurity. The program covers social engineering investigation and digital investigation and takes 5-6 hours to complete.
• Engineering Work Experience
• JP Morgan Chase
• JP Morgan Chase are offering virtual internships, there’s no application process, you can just sign up to take part! These self paced internships are available in Software Engineering and allows you to explore what life is like for software engineers working at JP Morgan. If you complete the programme you will be awarded a certificate of completion which will look fantastic on your CV or UCAS application. If you choose to then apply for their summer software engineer internship your application will be prioritized for follow up over other applicants who did not do the internship.
• The Goldman Sachs
• The Goldman Sachs Engineering Virtual Program only takes 2 hours but it equips you with lots of skills. During the program you’ll analyse results and propose policy changes.
• Law Work Experience
• Lots of law firms, including magic circle ones, are offering virtual placements and activities to get students thinking about how law impacts everyday life and specific circumstances.
• Clifford Chance
• Clifford Chance are offering online work experience programmes in Cyber Security Global, Climate Change Business and Human Rights. You can just sign up on their website and will complete tasks which get you to consider how to advise clients on these challenges, and to help you identify and evaluate like a lawyer.
• Corrs Chambers Westgarth
• Australian law firm Corrs Chamber Westgarth are offering a self-paced four module programme which covers Corporate, Commercial Litigation, Projects & Arbitration and Working at Corrs.
• Linklaters
• The Linklaters Virtual Programme allows students to sample the work that lawyers and trainees do every day, and gives you the chance to build legal skills and understand what a career at Linklaters would be like.
• Linklaters also offer another virtual programme specifically designed for students aged 16-18 and those who are just starting to think about the world of commercial law. In this programme you’ll get an insight into how Training Contract works and learn about the pro bono work Linklaters does.
• Leo Cussen
• LEO Cussen are offering a virtual internship in Human Rights Law. The self-paced training will put you in a similultted environement to experience what it’s like to solve human rights and discrimination issues in a legal practice.
• White & Case
• The White & Case virtual learning programme gives students the opportunity to gain an insight into life as a White & Case lawyer, and allows students to experience the realities of cross-border law.
• Latham & Watkins
• International law firm Latham Watkins are consistently recognized as one of the most prestigious law firms in the world. They’re currently running three virtual experience programmes in three different areas to give students an insight into their practice.
• The Mergers & Acquisitions virtual experience programme provides a great introduction into Latham & Watkins and the type of work they do. During the programme you’ll complete a variety of tasks such as reviewing an NDA, using AI and analysing contracts, preparing advice, and negotiating transactions.
• The Emerging Companies virtual experience programme provides an insight into Latham & Watkins’ work and will help you to develop skills such as client communication, due diligence, and practice skills.
• If you’re interested in white collar crime The White Collar Defense & Investigations virtual experience programme is perfect for you. During the programme you’ll complete a variety of tasks such as preparing for a witness interview and calculating potential prison sentences and fines using sentencing guidelines.
• RPC
• Explore life at RPC with theirvirtual experience programme and learn more about what life at a law firm is like. You’ll develop skills in legal research, communication, commercial awareness and attention to detail.
• Infrastructure Work Experience
• John Holland
• Australian firm John Holland are offering a virtual internship where you can complete real-life work tasks that the infrastructure (concrete and subtract), building (design and programme) and rail (design & installation and testing and commissioning) businesses face every day.
• Marketing Work Experience
• If the company you’re interested in doesn’t have any work experience opportunities listed on their website it’s worth sending a speculative email asking about any placements they may have. This is very common with smaller companies and marketing, PR, and media agencies. In your email attach your CV and write a short cover letter, this is your opportunity to say why you’re interested in working at that specific company, what you hope to learn, and what you can bring to the table. Mention specific aspects of the company you’re interested in, such as their charity work or any new campaigns. Hiring managers are more interested in applicants with a genuine interest than those with lots of work experience.
• You can find the most relevant contact email address on the company’s website, often they’ll have a specific work with us / work experience page where you can find it. If the name of the hiring manager is not listed on that page, try to find out their name on the website or LinkedIn profile.
• Medicine Work Experience
• As medical work experience is often expected for UCAS applications, a number of organisations have put together virtual work experience to help students understand what a career in medicine would entail.
• Brighton & Sussex Virtual Work Experience
• Brighton & Sussex Medical School have created a Virtual Work Experience Course for students applying to medical school. You can explore the roles and skill sets of different medical specialists and consider some of the issues and challenges faced by doctors. You will learn about the NHS, surgeries, emergency medicine, mental health, palliative care, communication skills and helping elederly patients. The placement is completely free of charge, and you can just sign up and begin.
• If you’d like to find out more about how to get medical work experience this year, see the Med School’s handy PDF which highlights the different methods and programmes available to you.
• Inside Medicine
• BBC IPlayer has put together a collection of short programmes exploring the work of Doctors, Nurses, and health professionals to help you understand what each role does and how different roles work together. Each programme focuses on a specific area such as A&E.
• Observe GP
• The Royal College of General Practitioners have launched a free interactive platform called Observe GP. You can gain an insight by observing general practitioners to help you understand the realities of medicine.
• University Hospitals Birmingham Trust and Medic Mentor
• Medic Mentor are offering a fantastic free work experience programme, aimed at students in years 10-12. The next sessions will start in September, you can apply now.
• Teaching Work Experience
• Due to social distancing in schools, it will be extremely difficult to find an in person teaching work experience placement. Your best bet is to first identify the skills and traits needed to be a successful teacher such as communication, organisation, flexibility, enthusiasm, empathy, and patience. Once you have a list, think about the different volunteering opportunities which would help you develop those skills. For example, volunteering at your local Scouts or Guides group will allow you to work with children and run activities like you would during work experience at a school. You can find vacancies and enquire on their websites.
• If you attend a place of worship regularly, why not get involved with the youth group? These activities may need to be digital or outside and socially distanced, but they will still be valuable in helping you develop skills until it is safe to go back into schools.
• You could also complete a really helpful and informative free course such as The World of Primary School Course online to give you a greater understanding of what a career in teaching involves.
• Technology Work Experience
• Deloitte
• During Deloitte’s Tech Consulting virtual internship you’ll complete a variety of tasks in Technology Strategy & Innovation, Optimisation & Delivery, and Cloud Engineering. The tasks will enable you to develop your skills in critical thinking, value analysis, cost estimation, and planning.
• Veterinary Work Experience
• The University of Nottingham
• The University of Nottingham have put together a virtual work experience opportunity exploring the veterinary profession course, designed to help students explore the challenges of the vet profession. The free course course gives students an insight into the reality of life as a vet, and discusses the roles and responsibilities of veterinary teams.

https://futurefirst.org.uk/product/free-work-experience-in-health-and-social-care/

FREE – Work experience in Health and Social Care

FREE

This virtual work experience pack is aimed at supporting students who aspire towards a career in the Health and Social Care sector. Featuring a week-long programme of activities and pre-recorded video messages from Future First alumni sharing top tips on pursuing careers in Medicine, Nursing, Social Work and Healthcare services. Students will develop insight into a range of opportunities related to Health and Social Care, learn from the career journeys of professionals who have achieved success in this field, and practice key employability skills to help them to achieve their goals.

Springpod Opportunities

Springpod are offering Virtual Work Experience Programmes and Insight Days that are free for students and can be completed at times to suit. Young people will receive a certificate from the employer at the end of the programme or use in CVs, Personal Statements and future interviews. The sessions all feature live interaction, allowing students to ask any burning questions directly to the experts. Tasks will be set during the programme which will be marked upon completion, helping students to gain career knowledge and experience.

For more information please click on the image below:

You are able to search for opportunities by Status, Job Sector or Employer.

Springpod have a number of opportunities which cover a variety of pathways such as:

Banking Accountancy Teaching Journalism Marketing Law Politics Veterinary Graphics Design Technology

Dentistry TV & Film Business Management Psychology Architecture Software Development Graphic Design Social Media Marketing Allied Health Professional

Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership are committed to supporting the development of our future workforce and whilst we are slowly returning to in-person work experience placements, we are currently not in a position to offer as many placements as we did pre-Covid-19. We do not want students to miss out on finding out about the different roles and career opportunities we have available so we are working with Health Education England and Springpod to offer virtual work-related learning opportunities. We have three programmes running over the next 12 months in Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health Professions. Each programme contains a number of modules which provide the opportunity for students to hear from professionals about the many roles on offer in the NHS and Social Care, learn from real-life experiences and the training required.

Students will also be able to take part in discussions, Q&A sessions, learn new skills, complete mini activities, gain sector insights and also build their portfolio for CV’s, applications and supporting statements.

• A minimum of ten hours commitment will be required for each programme which can be completed within a flexible timeframe. A certificate will be awarded upon completion.

Nursing

Medicine

Allied Health Professions e.g. therapists, paramedics, radiography, dietetics, podiatry, orthoptics and more can be found on Springpod.

Allied Health Professional Online Work-Related Learning (springpod.com)

Other Virtual Work Experience Opportunities

The links below will help you gain an insight into a wide range of businesses and careers. These opportunities can be completed in your own time to broaden your outlook and skills:

Architecture – Halliday Fraser Munro   - Design or Technology programmes using SketchUp and Revit (free downloads available)

Digital Technologies – iDEA   - Develop your talents and gain all-important knowledge and information about the digital world with iDEA. You can win career-enhancing badges, unlock new opportunities and, ultimately, gain industry-recognised awards that will help you to stand out from the crowd.

Financial Services - Why not extend your Virtual Work Experience journey by learning about financial services through our online film which outlines how a bank works and the different role available?

Dentistry - New advice on gaining experience to support an application to dental school during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dentistry Virtual Work Experience with Sheffield University Dental School, students can learn about different roles in dental practices, and an introduction into tooth anatomy and disease. Please note, students do not receive a certificate of completion, unless paying an upgrade fee, but students can evidence their work experience through clear and concise reflections on what they have learnt.

Medicine – Brighton & Sussex Medical School - This course provides a virtual work experience for those looking to apply to Medical School. You will be introduced to the NHS before exploring the roles and skill sets of six different medical specialists. Along the way, you will also consider some of the challenges and wider issues that doctors face.

Medicine – Royal College of General Practitioners  - 'Observe GP' is an alternative to work experience for aspiring medics, aged 16 and over, who are living in the UK. It is a free interactive video platform providing insights into the role of a GP and the wider Primary Care team.

Medicine - The Queen Elizabeth Hospital has partnered with Medic Mentor, the UK’s largest medical family, to provide free live virtual work experience to any student in the UK wanting to become a doctor, dentist or vet.  As a student, you will be able to ask any of the doctors questions about the cases you see.  It will be as if you are really there, but from the comfort of your own home and without putting you at risk during the COVID pandemic. 

Virtual NHS work experience for allied health careers such as:

Nursing Midwifery Paramedicine Physiotherapy Occupational Therapy Dietetics

Radiography Prosthetics and orthotics Speech and language therapy  Osteopathy Pharmacy and now includes Podiatry too!

This programme is available to support all of your aspiring healthcare students as an alternative to in-person NHS work experience during the pandemic. Please inform your students who are interested in the NHS Allied Healthcare Professions.

During the work experience day, students will follow 2 patients from their initial presentation to recovery. Students will observe the healthcare professionals as they interact with the patients and and also each other.Students will have an opportunity to ask questions and gain knowledge through teaching. This will help students to make an informed career decision as well as learn about how healthcare professionals work together as part of a multidisciplinary team. Each work experience day is completely different and students will be able to build on their knowledge of NHS careers as they see different patient cases and their healthcare professionals work in a variety of settings, such as hospital and community.

You can learn more and register for the programme by clicking on this link.  

Veterinary with the University of Nottingham - Get an insight into the reality of life as a vet so that you can make an informed decision about embarking of a career in the veterinary profession. Virtual work experience programme to do in your own time, provided by Future First in collaboration with the University of Nottingham.

The Lawyer Portal - Traditionally, work experience for law students has taken place within an actual law firm or barristers chambers. However, some law firms have paved the way for a new kind of virtual work experience for law students to allow them to see what life at a law firm might be like from the comfort of their own homes.

Law - White and Case - This virtual programme allows students to gain first-hand insight into life as a White & Case lawyer and experience the realities of cross-border law.

Speakers 4 Schools offer a range of areas for the focussed student. Please be aware of the various closing dates and it is competitive! Students need to register to look at the various opportunities on offer. 

Please click on the link to view the wide range of upcoming events for the Spring Term.

For access on the website for a full list of placements -  sign in here to search and apply.

Summer Career Experiences in London - For students aged 12 - 18

INVESTIN, a work experience provider, are currently introducing their 2023 Summer Career Experiences in London.

Work alongside doctors in a London hospital. Argue a case in the Supreme Court. Trade the stock market in a skyscraper. Explore a Boeing jet with aerospace engineers. And much more!

Please be aware their is a cost for these courses however they are able to offer Bursaries.

For more information please click on this LINK.

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