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Work Experience

Work Experience is a valuable part of the curriculum and here at Park High we are very fortunate to have the opportunity to have one week set aside for us in the yearly calendar. 

In order for our students to stand out, we need to make them ‘work ready’ and ‘employable’ – equipped with the skills (not just academic) that an employer is looking for.

Skills such as:

  • Problem solving
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
  • Time management) 
  • Professionalism
  • Working maturity
  • Willingness to learn and be guided by others
  • Enthusiasm for the tasks provided

We will work with the help from parents and carers to actively support their children in securing a placement. 

Thank you for sending us excellent students, it was a pleasure having them and we hope to support more of your students in the next academic year.

Work experience placement feedback

What makes you stand out from the crowd?

Whether you realise it or not each year thousands of students graduate from High School. In doing so they have demonstrated that they can complete set tasks, research and write assignments, work individually and as part of a group, and make presentations to class. So what makes you stand out from the crowd? Why would an employer notice you above everyone else? That’s where work experience comes in. In order to stand out, you need to show that you are ‘work ready’ and ‘employable’ – that you have the skills (not just academic) that an employer is looking for, and skills that you can apply to the job you want. The more experience you have the better and the more skills you develop during your work experience the better.

Key skills

The students that show all or many of the following skills will ultimately achieve the most out of their experience and be much more likely to be asked back for future work or given a reference from the employer about their ‘employability’. This is a key for your future. 

  • Problem solving (parent + car + me = lift to placement)
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills (dealing with other employees and customers – always attempt to use sentences with more than one word)
  • Time management (showing up on time and getting things done quickly)
  • Professionalism (brushing your teeth and combing your hair is a start)
  • Initiative (e.g. coming up with new ideas or ways of doing things)
  • Teamwork (including being respectful to others)
  • Working maturity (such as coping with long working hours and being prepared for challenges as they occur)
  • Willingness to learn and be guided by others (you don’t know it all)
  • Enthusiasm for the tasks provided (yeah, whatever, is not the best response)
  • Computer skills (you probably do know more than adults in this area)
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the ‘business’ 

Without any work experience many of these skills may be missing or may be a huge learning curve for you – a learning curve your employer won’t want you to experience during your first job with them. So during your placement write down what new skills you developed and how they were applied to the jobs you did.