There is often a sense that work experience models are an “either/or”, they are in-person or remote. This view does not reflect the world of work, with many jobs now blending remote and in-person working to the benefit of both employees and employers.
We worked with the Met Office to create a virtual programme that complemented their in-person initiatives with some great results.
The virtual programme created a wonderful route into their in-person placements, allowing employees to engage more deeply with students coming in. Since moving to a blended approach, they can cater for more students with no additional staffing resource and make deeper connections as the initial ‘getting to know you and us’ stage has all been done with one student leaving feedback that: “I liked the opportunity to attend live webinars and have my questions about working at the Met Office answered and also the ability to connect to Met Office employees through the Ambassador Programme.”
In this case study, we hear from students and Met Office staff as we recap one of our most innovative work experience programmes.
Anyone who has watched a weather forecast in the UK will be familiar with the Met Office, but perhaps not the extent of the work they do. People make all sorts of decisions based on the weather, and the Met Office helps them, from those going on holiday through to those planning military operations and even space programmes.
The Met Office’s climate forecasts are based on world-leading science. The organisation’s expertise is trusted around the world and it uses vast amounts of data and cutting-edge technology to benefit our planet, and everyone on it.
The Met Office has an existing in-person work experience programme, one that has led to many talented recruits joining over the years.
However, the team were aware of some of the limitations of physical work experience and wanted to expand the opportunity to a wider audience.
Sometimes the limited number of places are not shared equally or fairly, normally due to geography and existing connections. As one education provider put it:
“Work experience within professional organisations can be ‘elitist and middle-class’ and it is felt that disadvantaged students are less likely to be able to access opportunities than their peers, particularly those with existing links to an organisation.” - Multi-Academy Trust CEO.
With a wealth of information provided by the Met Office, we were able to create a detailed, interactive and engaging programme, with hands-on activities and quizzes to make it enjoyable as well. The programme’s modules looked at the following areas in more detail:
Some students really went above and beyond in the activities within each module, creating some awesome work!
All these modules were created with the in-person work experience informing our team’s thinking. The online programme is self-contained but acts as a foundation stage for the Met Office’s existing work experience.
By using it as a funnel, the Met Office can now be sure that any student attending in person knows what the Met Office does, the available roles and they have undertaken practical tasks. They also come in with confidence boosted from undergoing modules linked to general workplace skills.
The headline numbers go some way to telling the tale of how successful the programme was, with 1,274 enrolled and an average rating of 7.9 out of 10 from the participants.
Yousif was one of those thousand students.
One key objective was to improve students’ awareness of careers in the sector, with 74% before taking part classing their awareness as “poor” or “somewhat aware". Following their participation, 96% of students rated their awareness as “good” or “excellent”.
Perhaps the key figure, and the group most likely to go on to in-person placements or even apprenticeships, were those likely or very likely to consider careers in the sector. Before the programme 45% of the students put themselves in this bracket, with the figure rising to 67% after. This shows the modules not only engaged those already keen to pursue a career, but enthused more to investigate the next steps.
The benefits have also been seen within the walls of the Met Office. Students who come in for in-person work experience having been identified as good candidates online have a better understanding of the Met Office’s work and the connection between those running the work experience and the students is deeper.
“I am really loving the virtual work experience, one student called Benjamin has been asking really good questions that I can answer! It's awesome!” - Staff member who answered student questions via the Ambassador chat-function
Met Office employees have spoken of being delighted to further help students who initially asked meaningful questions online, there is now a meritocracy governing who comes in for the more traditional form of placement. “Being on the webinar panel was the highlight of my day - and my week!” - Staff member on the Technology, Cyber Security & Data Science webinar panel.
Importantly, this has a positive impact on staff allocation, the Met Office can now host 116 students per 1,000 hours of staff time allocated compared to just 32 previously.
They can see more students of school and college age, and these young people demonstrate a high level of enthusiasm for, and engagement with, the work experience having enjoyed a solid initial grounding.
