Businesses are achieving work experience accreditation

National Council for Work Experience recognise excellence in work experience with the award of the Work Experience Quality Mark.

The National Council for Work Experience (NCWE) is recognising UK employers who can prove that they achieve best practice in work experience.

The NCWEís Quality Mark is intended to raise standards for work experience and also gives employers the opportunity to share outstanding practice across a range of industry sectors and take a more strategic view of their relationships within higher education. The accreditation recognises placements which demonstrate the importance of qualities such as company commitment, learning and development and programme evaluation.

In order to receive the NCWE Work Experience Quality Mark, employers must submit a written application which is evaluated by an advisory board against the Quality Markís comprehensive assessment criteria. These criteria fall into eight sections and test all aspects of employersí work experience programmes including, recruitment procedures, induction practice and evaluation and monitoring. The eight evaluation elements are made up of criteria which are based on professional and academic expertise and are intended to guide the student in terms of work and career progression during the placement.

The latest companies to achieve the Quality Mark include global financial services group Citi, food manufacturer Heinz and premier high-street retailer Marks & Spencer plc.

Linda Graham, Graduate and Business Placement Programme Manager at Marks & Spencer said of the NCWE Quality Mark:

ìIt was nice to have an independent party verify our opinion of ourselves and the feedback that we received was great. We were given tips about improvements we could make and ways to benchmark ourselves against our competitors.

Now that we are accredited, our Quality Mark will remain valid for three years. The NCWE will continue to conduct yearly reviews and weíll continue to find new and exciting ways to enhance our work experience offering.î

Students who have taken part in internships at companies recognised by Quality Mark also speak highly of the quality of their work experience. Jane Reynolds is a final-year sociology student at Brunel University who has recently benefited from the Quality Mark accredited scheme at global food manufacturer Heinz. As part of her university course, Jane completed two six-month placements, working in human resources and sales. Jane says of her internship at Heinz:

ìHaving taken part in a work placement scheme at Heinz, I can safely say it was one of the best decisions Iíve made. Iíve met many talented individuals who have been great to work with and learn from. Heinz is very committed to developing its employees and its placement students to the best of their abilities, through regular feedback and training opportunities. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to attend several training courses which have turned out to be invaluable to my career. After I graduate in May 08, I will be taking up a full-time position at Heinz so for me itís been a great experience that I would recommend to other students. Itís given me a step up in my career for which I am truly grateful.î

From an employerís perspective, employee retention is higher amongst personnel recruited as a result of internship programmes so providing good quality placements is clearly a worthwhile investment for companies participating in the Quality Mark accreditation scheme.

Heather Collier, Manager of the NCWE said:

ìEmployers who achieve the Quality Mark all run extremely strong work experience programmes, which offer the interns the opportunity to really become fully integrated within the company. Their applications have to demonstrate a dedication to helping participants grow personally and professionally. I would like to see more employers following in the footsteps of these businesses and offering schemes of this calibre.î


Organisations interested in finding out more on the Quality Mark can find further information on www.work-experience.org or can contact Rachel Wood-Harper on 0161 277 5215. Accreditation from the Quality Mark will last for three years and then employers can apply to be reaccredited. The Quality Mark package costs 3500 and includes one assessor day, adviser meetings and sessions, assessment and accreditation.