Unifrog’s virtual work experience week (1st-5th July 2024) FAQs

Looking for a high quality virtual work experience for your students? Here’s how your students can connect with big name employers in Unifrog’s virtual work experience week, which runs 1st-5th July. 

What is Unifrog’s virtual work experience week?

The virtual work experience week, 1st-5th July, offers students in Y10 / S4 to Y13 / S6  access to five giants of different industries.

Whether your students are interested in finance, education, healthcare, broadcast journalism, marketing or product design, our virtual work experience days will bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world job skills.

The student tasks have been crafted by Unifrog’s team of experienced ex-teachers working in partnership with industry pros, providing students with an authentic taste of the workplace and helping schools and colleges to meet Gatsby benchmarks 5 and 6.

In a nutshell

Each day will be hosted by a different employer, offering students the chance to develop a wide range of employability skills, and have an introduction to careers in diverse fields:

What’s happening each day?

• Monday 1st July: Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) Students will learn how problem-solving and communication are key skills to succeed, and discover how to make a difference to organisations and communities globally.
   
• Tuesday 2nd July: Tesco Students will gain hands-on product design and marketing experience by designing a promotional meal deal, crafting a social media post, and developing pitch skills to present ideas effectively. They will also learn about the diverse career opportunities available at Tesco.
   
• Wednesday 3rd July: Get Into Teaching Students will explore different tasks that teachers deliver and key skills they develop throughout their careers. They'll take a deep dive into the profession to showcase how varied and rewarding teaching can be.
   
• Thursday 4th July: NHS Students will create a person specification and job description that appeals to young people, and explore methods for marketing job opportunities, designing interview questions and tasks. They will learn how having the right values is crucial for working in any role in the NHS.
   
• Friday 5th July: BBC Students will learn the significance of credibility in journalism, how to fact-check, and explore the importance of ethical journalism practices. The BBC will provide information about career pathways and apprenticeships.

What’s the format of the week?

• Each day will begin with a 9am webinar, hosted by the employer, to introduce the organisation and set up the task for the day.
   
• After that, students will complete and submit work experience tasks using the Courses tool.
   
• At 2pm, employers will host a second webinar to debrief the task and round off the day.
   

What is the time commitment and resources needed to take part in each day? 

At 9am and 2pm, students will need computer and internet access to watch the webinars, which will be approximately 30-45 minutes long. They could do this individually (e.g. with a computer and headphones) or in a group setting (e.g. in a classroom with other students). 

Between the two webinars, students will need computer and internet access to complete and submit their virtual work experience tasks. 

We suggest taking a whole day “off timetable” to allow students to work on their tasks, beginning straight after the first webinar finishes up until the second one begins at 2pm. 

We understand that all settings have different break and lunch arrangements, but as an example, your day might look something like this:

Can you give me more specific information about the tasks students will complete?

The tasks are designed to give students a taste of real workplaces - activities that someone might typically do as part of their everyday work. 

Students will be able to complete all tasks on their own, but if a number of students from one school or college wish to work in a group for some tasks, they’re able to do so. 

For example, in the Tesco work experience day, students will write a pitch for a product they’ve designed, and craft a social media post to promote it. Both of these activities can be done individually or as a group. 

How can I find out more about each day?

If you follow this link and click "sign up" you'll get access to a PDF download with a little more information about each of the virtual work experience days, including the timings and format of the sessions. 

Here’s an example from day 2, with Tesco.

Who has created the resources?

Each employer has worked in partnership with Unifrog’s teaching resources team (made up of qualified and experienced ex-teachers) to design the work experience tasks.

The combination of the expertise of the teaching resources team and the employers means that the tasks work well in a classroom setting, and they also give students a taste of the world of work. The activities also set students up to be able to talk about what they've done when they later apply for jobs, apprenticeships, or university courses.

Who is the virtual work experience week aimed at?

Students from all UK schools, state and independent, in Year 10 / S4 to Year 13 / S6. 

The week is aimed at students in UK schools because much of the content is UK-centric, for example, highlighting apprenticeship opportunities or UK post-16 or post-18 qualifications and pathways. 

Our open-ended tasks are accessible to students with a range of abilities, and there will be opportunities for students to stretch themselves by taking activities further, exploring different directions, and adding their own creative touches.

How do students sign up?

Students sign up here.

If you want to promote the week with students, you could use this careers quiz. 

If you want to walk students through the process of signing up, you can use this Quick task PowerPoint. 

Can students sign up to more than one day?

Yes - they can sign up to as many or as few days as they like.

How do students join a work experience day?

Each of the work experience days will be hosted on the Courses tool, but each course will only become live on the day of the work experience. On the relevant day, students will go to the tool, join the course, and they'll see webinar links and tasks. 

If students have signed up in advance, they’ll receive regular reminder emails and a reminder text in the lead up to the event. The day before their chosen day/s start, we'll send them the link to the course with instructions of how to join and watch the 9am webinar.

If students can’t attend live sessions, can they still take part? 

For the best experience, students should complete the virtual work experience sessions live on the day they’re planned. This is for two reasons:

1. We know that students are far more likely to complete a live virtual work experience placement rather than one that’s recorded and available later.
    
2. We’re not able to record all of the webinar sessions.

If it’s not possible for students to take part on the day, the task elements of the virtual work experience sessions will be available on the Courses tool until 1st September 2024, along with some on demand webinars from the week.

Can students take part using mobile devices?

It is possible for students to watch the webinars on a mobile device, but we strongly recommend they have computer access to complete the work experience tasks in the middle section of the day.

Is there a maximum number of places for the webinars?

No maximum - all students in Years 10 / S4 to Year 13 / S6 are welcome to sign up.

Is there a cut-off date for students to sign up?

There’s no cut-off date - students can join at any time, including on the day that the virtual work experience goes live. If they're joining on the day, to find the session, ask them to head straight to the Courses tool.

In the webinars, will students need to appear on camera or talk on the mic? 

No. Students won't appear on camera or talk on the mic, but there might be an opportunity to ask questions through a typed Q&A. 

Will there be interaction between students and employers?

During the webinars, students can ask questions via typed Q&A. After the day, employers have the option to review and give feedback on a selection of student submissions - though due to the volume of students we’re expecting to join, we cannot guarantee this for every student who takes part. 

Do students get a completion certificate for each day?

Yes, they'll get a course completion certificate if they submit all of the required tasks on the Courses tool.

How can I tell if a student has completed a virtual work experience day?

As a teacher, you'll be able to see if students have completed and submitted all of the virtual work experience tasks. 

Log into the teacher side of the platform. Using Advanced view, go to Sort By > Courses.

From here, you’ll be able to see: 

• Students who have joined the work experience day, but not completed or submitted the tasks (highlighted in orange).
   
• Students who have completed and submitted all work experience tasks (highlighted in green).

For each student, click the course name to review the work they've submitted, and add comments if you’d like to.

Should students add this experience to the Placements tool?

Please don't ask your students to add the experience to the Placements tool yet. We're currently streamlining the virtual work experience form on the Placements tool, and we'll let you know when it's ready for your students to add our virtual work experience week experiences to it.