For many high-school students, imagining a future career can feel abstract – until they step into a real-world workplace. This is why many students in Australia try short-term placements in industries or businesses that interest them, to discover what the world of work is really like and whether it’s the right fit for them.

“Work experience has lots of benefits,” says Richard Mew, a career adviser at Mosman High School in Sydney. Mr Mew started teaching English and History in the late 1970s. “I’ve been a career adviser for the last 30 years,” he says. “And I’ve been at Mosman for seven years now.

Students can participate in work experience (one day to a week) in Year 10 (ages 15–16), the final year of compulsory education. Most schools in Australia include the work experience programme in their curriculum, but its structure varies. Some schools allocate a specific week during which all Year 10 students complete placements, with regular classes paused. In others, students can choose when to do their placement.

Previously, Mosman students could only go on placements after their final exams in the third term, but now they can start at any point in the academic year. This year, 30 out of 200 students have already done placements in the first two terms. Mr Mew estimates that “approximately 90% of the students in Year 10 do work experience”, although the school does not keep official statistics on this.

What do students think?

Students who spoke to Harbingers’ Magazine said work experience helped them gain valuable insights into their potential career paths.

Claudia Tribe Aviles completed her placement at the School of Fine Art in Georges Heights, where she spent four days supporting an art teacher and preparing classrooms. “It gave me both valuable advice and encouragement I need for my goal of opening an art studio, as well as reminding me of alternative paths I can take in my art,” she says.

Initially unsure about what route to take, he saw the apprenticeship as a practical choice that would lead to a plumbing certificate after three to four years.

“I had a cracka [awesome] time,” he says. “I was working hard throughout the week, asking questions and if there was anything I could do, which ultimately got me the offer. The boys that worked there made it a good time.”

He is now in the final year of his apprenticeship at Curl Curl and is happy with his choice. “Just showing you’re keen and ready to learn makes it easy to get offered an apprenticeship,” he adds.

“We’ve had some good success rates with work experience,” says Mr Mew. One student received a part-time job offer at a restaurant after completing a one-week placement there.

James Boneham (who attends Georges River College Oatley), was part of the stage crew at Schools Spectacular, working 40 hours in one week. “It helped me realise how much I love being a part of a crew and working on events,” he says.

The programme continues into Year 11, although increased academic pressure makes participation more difficult, so it’s usually recommended that students complete work experience in Year 10. However, some schools in Australia don’t offer the programme at all.

Mr. Mew believes work experience should become more common. “It is beneficial because students are working, professionally, in an adult environment with things that they may want to do when they finish school,” he says. “This way they learn different skills.”