For Businesses
Clear, practical answers on hosting work experience and hiring apprentices, from the official sources, in plain English.
List your businessWhy this matters
Over a million young people in the UK are not in education, employment or training, and 84% of them say they want to be. The problem isn't motivation. It's opportunity. A few days in your business can be the moment a young person sees a future for themselves here at home. For you, it's the start of a local talent pipeline: future staff who already know your business, and a stronger reputation with local families.
Why host work experience?
Find your future staff
Meet young people before they apply anywhere else, and spot talent early.
Develop your team
Supervising a young person builds your staff's coaching and leadership skills.
Be seen locally
Show families, schools and customers that you invest in your community.
Work experience has changed
Work experience is no longer just one week in Year 10. Schools are now expected to give every young person "two weeks' worth" of meaningful experience across secondary school, built up over time. That means there are lots of ways to get involved, many taking just a few hours:
- A traditional placement of a few days to a week
- A workplace visit or tour for a group of students
- A project or challenge you set, which students work on in school
- A talk, Q&A or mock interviews in a school
- A virtual or online task or session
- Supporting a community project with young people
- Short sessions after school, at weekends or in the holidays (see the rules below for under-16s)
What makes it "meaningful"?
Schools use the Gatsby Benchmarks (Benchmark 6) and the Careers & Enterprise Company's equalex framework to judge quality. In short, a meaningful experience:
- Has a clear purpose, agreed with the school and explained to the young person
- Gets them doing, not just watching. Real tasks and real conversations with your staff
- Gives them time to prepare beforehand and reflect afterwards
- Builds on what they've done before, rather than being a one-off
Tip: give them one real task they can finish and talk about, and ten minutes at the end of each day to ask questions.
How to host a placement: step by step
- Agree the basics with the school or college: dates, hours, the student's age, any additional needs, and who will supervise.
- Review your risk assessment (see below). Usually you just need to check the one you already have.
- Check your insurance. Most businesses are already covered.
- Plan the week: who they'll shadow, one or two real tasks, and when breaks are.
- Day one induction: introduce the team, health and safety rules, and who to go to with a problem.
- Finish with feedback: a short chat, and a few lines to the school on attendance, effort and behaviour.
The legal bits: clear answers
This is general guidance from official sources, not legal advice. Last checked: October 2026. If in doubt, ask the school arranging the placement.
Do I need a special risk assessment?
Under health and safety law, work experience students are treated as your employees. Review your risk assessment before they start if you're taking on a student for the first time, haven't employed a young person in the last few years, or the student has particular needs. If you've hosted a similar student recently, you don't need to repeat it. You must explain the significant risks and controls to parents or carers. This is usually done through the school, and can be verbal. Source: HSE — hse.gov.uk/young-workers
Is there anything a student can't do?
Very little. HSE says there are very few work activities a student cannot do because of health and safety law. Your risk assessment decides what's suitable for their age and experience. Source: HSE
Do I need extra insurance?
Usually not. Your existing employers' liability insurance covers work experience students if your insurer is a member of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) or Lloyd's. If you don't normally need employers' liability insurance, speak to your insurer first. Source: HSE and ABI
Do my staff need DBS checks?
It depends on how often the same person supervises the student, and the school will guide you. From 1 September 2026, if the same person supervises a child on more than 3 days in any 30-day period, or overnight, that counts as "regulated activity", and the school must be sure that person is not barred from working with children. A standard five-day placement with one supervisor meets this threshold, so expect the school to discuss checks with you before the placement. Schools cannot ask you to get an enhanced DBS check with barred list information for staff supervising 16 and 17-year-olds. Staff with only incidental contact, who aren't supervising the student, are not in regulated activity. Source: Department for Education, Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026
Do under-16s need a work permit?
Not for work experience arranged by their school. If an under-16 does work or sessions with you outside a school-arranged placement, for example weekends or after school, Lincolnshire County Council's child employment rules and permits may apply, so check with the council first. Source: GOV.UK — gov.uk/child-employment
What hours can young people work?
Young workers aged 16–17 who have left school can work no more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. They are entitled to a 30-minute break if they work more than 4.5 hours, and generally should not work at night. Under-16s have stricter limits. Source: ACAS and GOV.UK
Do I have to pay work experience students?
Pupils below school-leaving age on work experience are not entitled to the minimum wage. If you take someone on as a worker or apprentice, minimum wage rules apply. Source: GOV.UK
What happens if there's a safeguarding concern?
Tell the school straight away. They will follow their safeguarding procedures. Agree a named contact at the school before the placement starts.
Thinking about an apprentice?
An apprenticeship is a real job with training. The apprentice works for you and spends part of their time learning with a training provider. Figures below are for England, checked October 2026.
How much does the training cost?
For smaller employers who don't pay the apprenticeship levy, the government now fully funds training for apprentices aged under 25. Source: Department for Education
Are there any incentive payments?
Yes. £2,000 for hiring a foundation apprentice aged 16–21 (or under 25 with an EHC plan, a care leaver, or a prison leaver). From 1 October 2026, non-levy employers can also get a £2,000 hiring payment for apprentices aged 16–24 who are new employees. Your training provider will confirm what you're eligible for. Source: Department for Education
What do I have to pay them?
From April 2026, the apprentice minimum wage is £8.00 an hour for apprentices under 19, or in their first year. After that, they move to the minimum wage for their age: £10.85 for 18–20-year-olds, and £12.71 for 21 and over. Source: GOV.UK
Do I pay employer National Insurance?
Not on earnings for apprentices aged under 25, up to the upper earnings threshold. Source: HMRC
Where do I start?
Choose a training provider and agree the apprenticeship standard. They'll handle most of the paperwork. Start at gov.uk/employing-an-apprentice
Ready to open your door?
Being listed on LocalRoutes takes two minutes and doesn't commit you to anything. It simply tells young people and schools you're open to being contacted about work experience. You decide what you offer and when.
List your businessLocalRoutes is a directory and connector. We don't organise, approve or supervise placements. Arrangements, safeguarding and approval stay with the school or college and the business.