Who can take part?
You can take part if you are a publicly funded learning provider in England and do not currently receive funding for work placements from an alternative source. This includes further education colleges (including sixth form and specialist colleges), adult and community learning providers, and work-based learning providers (including independent training organisations and Job Centre Plus procured).
Business Interchange is not open to schools, school sixth forms, higher education institutions, trusts or academies.
We recommend you work with tutors to help them identify their objectives so they can use these as a guide to finding a potential business host and deciding on the type of placement and activities they want to participate in. The Business Interchange helpline can advise them of the types of placement that will help them meet their learning objectives.
The type of placement they might propose could be:
- a short awareness visit, or series of visits, to help them update their skills in a discrete and defined area. Remember a placement doesn’t have to take place over consecutive days, it can be planned to fit around the constraints of the tutor and business host’s time
- a short placement which goes beyond observation to provide more in-depth opportunities to extend knowledge and update skills
- a longer, or project-orientated placement, providing good ‘all round’ experience as well as an opportunity to contribute to the host organisation’s core business activities and update skills in a wider range of areas
- a two-way exchange – a typical placement which also includes reverse opportunities for staff from the host organisation to visit the learning provider to observe and learn from current practices.
