Best practice on offering work placements on-farm
Work Experience Toolkit
Work experience toolkit
Work experience placements can provide enthusiastic new staff for farm businesses. This toolkit is designed to help you create new opportunities and make the most of placements on your farm.
You can also find more information on the types of work experience plus our collection of handy resources further down in this Toolkit.
Click on either section of the toolkit in the graphic above for practical advice about work experience placements, or scroll down for more information on the details and benefits of WEX.
You can also find more information on the types of work experience further down in this toolkit.
Members can also access our collection of resources, to help them plan and review work placements.
Find out how you can become a member today.
The benefits of offering work experience
Farmers and growers who've provided work experience say they've seen a range of benefits from offering placements to young people and career changers.
These include:
These include:
- Developing new channels for recruitment
- Keeping them abreast of current education and qualifications
- Helping them meet their business’ corporate social responsibility
- Making their business and the industry/sector more attractive to potential recruits
- Motivating their existing staff, as they often enjoy meeting new people and sharing their knowledge with students
- Bringing fresh ideas and new perspectives into their business
Plan your placement
Plan your placement
While it may seem simple to arrange a work experience placement, some time spent considering the practical arrangements ahead of time can prevent confusion and save time later.
Take a look at our key considerations to offering placements on a farm.
Take a look at our key considerations to offering placements on a farm.
Planning a work experience placement ahead of time can save time and prevent confusion later.
Read our tips on what you should expect of any placement student in terms of hours and duties.
Payment in not usually made for school placements, though there are instances when payment should be considered.
After planning the duties and duration of any placement you can then look to set a placement up.
Prepare your business
Prepare your business
You could be forgiven for thinking that welcoming young people onto your farm could be daunting, but that needn't be the case. We look through the legal and insurance implications of any placement here.
Find out more about your legal responsibility when hosting work experience placements on a farm.
It's important to perform a thorough risk assessment before welcoming any placements on to your farm.
Be sure to check your existing policies to ensure you have the correct cover before starting a placement.
Information on the best practice surrounding DBS checks when taking on young people aged 16-17.
More information on work experience
Use our explainers here to get a better understanding of work experience, it's importance to the development of agriculture and horticulture and the benefits of placements for young people.
Find out more about the different types of work-related learning and how your business can benefit from them.
Find out how work experience placements can be crucial to developing employability skills in young people.
Agriculture and horticulture has a lot to benefit from improving access to work experience placements.
Members get more
TIAH members also benefit from a range of downloadable templates and resources to help them improve their business management, staff recruitment, staff development and more.
Find out more on how you can benefit from TIAH membership and sign up today.
Work experience news and blogs
Dairy farmer Gaynor Wellwood tells us about her extensive experience of offering work experience at her farm.
Susan’s Farm Education Manager Helen Ward discusses the benefits of work experience placements.
Work experience can be exciting and rewarding, but it's vital to most of your time on farm.
Two second-year students tell us about their experiences being on work placement at Saltby farm.
Partner organisations
We would like to thank the following organisations for assisting in the production of this Toolkit.
All the information and templates in this Toolkit are provided to help you form your own policies and documents on-farm. If you are unsure as to their suitability then you should seek professional legal advice. You an find out more information about the provision of this information in our General website terms and conditions.