Work Experience Help

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Sophiecollins11

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Hi all :)
I am a 16 year old at sparsholt college looking to find somewhere for my work experience in April next year (2018)
I am unsure what I would like to do once I leave college so does anyone have any ideas of places around England but ideally in Hampshire or Wiltshire that would take on a 17/18 year old for a months work experience?
Would like to try somewhere like a yard specialising in pony's, dressage horses or showing as that's what I'm personally Into or somewhere completely different and not on a yard at all but still linked to horses?
Can anyone help at all? I know I need to start from the bottom and I'm willing to do almost anything as long as I'm not badly treated while I'm there :)

Thank you! X
 
If I were your age again I would love to do work experience at a feed company, I bet that would be really interesting - one that has an advice line, does yard visits etc
 
Chances are with your age you might well be best to find somewhere local to yourself so that you can get there easily as I suspect very few places will be able to put you up for bed and board - and costs for that can be quite high if you're not earning otherwise (and trying to earn and do full time work experience at the same time is generally quite crippling both physically and mentally).

Also don't forget that you've still got the rest of this year; you've got the summer months after exams where you could apply to local places for work experience. Even if its just working on a yard it shows commitment and dedication. That counts for a lot if you then go to talk to another site for work experience and you've already got references from previous work experience.

Be sure to keep a record of your experiences and your duties.



As for being taken advantage of consider:
1) Communication is key. Many times someone on work experience can get "left behind" in the day to day running of a place. Thus without any deliberate intention you can find yourself doing all the grunt work with little room to learn or advance in skills. So always communicate before and during what your hopes and direction are.

2) Work experience means that you likely won't get pay in cash(some places might or might give you a tip now and then) but it doesn't mean that you get no reward. You reward is experience, but that experience has to be valid. Depending on the nature of the site and the nature of the work you might find that this experience is the day to day running of things. Or it might be that its a more formal few hours a week set aside for some training in some form; for others it could be dedicated lessons.
The key is to be sure you know what you're getting before you start and to be sure that those employing you are also clear on what you expect of them.

3) General tip but always say no to any task your given if you are at all concerned about your safety or those around you. If you're not up to a task say so; or if you want help/reminding etc... Part of working in the "real world" is being able to understand your own skills and limits and knowing when to ask for help. It helps keep you and those around you safe.
Of course part of work experience is pushing your limits and doing new and sometimes things that are a bit scary - but the key is that you should have the proper preparations and support.
 
Thank you both for your help I will look into some different companies! I was planning on looking in summer but so many places get booked up and college wants it organised so soon I have no clue what I actually want to do for it :/
I want something a little different to my past experiences of RDA volunteering and working on a livery yard so open to any options and don't expect pay or anything just want somewhere I will enjoy for the 4 weeks preferable near family so I can have transport although hopefully will be able to drive 😊
Thank you again!
 
I just reread your OP and see it is for April 2018, I think your college is being a bit premature wanting firm plans in place so soon, you may have a change of mind about where your career path will go by then and the work experience would have little relevance, having said that it would be good if you looked around and maybe found somewhere local that would give you some days before next April, if you found somewhere that interested you by next year you could be a valued helper able to do more than the basic tasks, which would be good on the cv for future employment and get you a step ahead of other college leavers.
Plenty of show and dressage yards need extra help at the weekends and in the holidays, you never know what opportunities that may lead to if you have some spare time to fill.
 
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