Early Careers - Work Experience

Work Experience

London Borough of Sutton offers work experience placements designed to provide individuals with an insight into potential careers, attract and recruit more young people, and boast a diverse and skilled workforce.

Our work experience falls into three categories:

• ad-hoc work experience placements - This is a placement that may be taken on anytime throughout the year, typically for school students from Years 10 to 12. These can be both short and longer-term placements. 
• corporate work experience scheme placements - Our corporate work experience scheme was first developed in the 2022/23 academic year. This scheme offers a 1-week structured placement within the Council for students of our partnered schools and sixth-form colleges. 
• volunteering - This can contribute to the completion of any Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) award you may be undertaking, and is a great way to get involved with your local community. Service areas such as our Library Services, and Parks and Gardens teams, have taken on volunteering opportunities previously.

Ad-Hoc Work Experience

Some service areas within our Council which take on work experience students include: 

• Library Services.
• Regulatory Services.
• Biodiversity (Parks and Gardens).
• Highways and Transport.
• Communications and Engagement.
• Climate Action and Sustainability.
• HR and Organisational Development.

To request Ad-Hoc Work Experience with our teams, register your interest by contacting the Learning and Development Team on learning.engagement@kingston.gov.uk and include the following:

• Your name, the name of your School or College Institution, and your contact details (email address and/or mobile number).
• A short description of why you would like to gain experience in our Council.
• Your subject and/or study interests.
• A team or service area that you are interested to work in (if applicable).
• Attach your CV also (if available). 

A member of the team will be in touch to discuss your needs.

Corporate Work Experience

Our corporate work experience scheme was developed for the 2022/23 academic year and piloted in partnership with Cheam High School. Following our highly successful pilot runs of the scheme, we will continue to run this scheme and are looking to incorporate new schools and colleges each year. 

Our council aims to run this scheme in March (for Year 10 students) and July (for Year 12 students) each academic year. We also aim to ringfence placements for our care experienced residents as part of this scheme. As a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer our scheme is SEND-friendly and is HR-supported.

This in-person WEX scheme typically follows a 1-week structured schedule, starting with an induction day to the council. Participants are assigned to work within one of our teams for the remainder of the week, but will also have an opportunity to meet with our Chief Executive, and participate in development sessions around IT (Google Workspace) Training, Equality Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I), Political Awareness (Year 12-only) and Presentation Skills. Students will present back to their peers and managers on their final day about their experience week with the council.

Further Enquiries 

For more information on our Work Experience opportunities, and for schools or sixth-form colleges that would be interested in participating in the scheme, contact the Learning and Development Team on learning.engagement@kingston.gov.uk.