At Wigan Council we understand the importance of providing valuable opportunities for our residents to gain hands-on, work experience and develop essential skills for their future careers.
Our priority is to support residents of the borough or those studying in a Wigan borough school or college, who are interested in a career with Team Wigan.
Here you will find an overview of the variety of opportunities currently available across the council and how to express an interest in these.
We have implemented a single council-wide approach to work experience requests, and these must be made using the request form.
Please do not make direct approaches to council services as your request will not be considered.
What are the benefits?
- Gaining valuable new skills, knowledge and experience
- Developing existing skills and knowledge
- Enhancing your CV
- Improving prospects for the future including further education, training or employment
- Supporting the achievement of a qualification
- Gaining a reference
- Giving something back to the community.
Who can register an interest
Schools
Following the success of our pilot Team Wigan Work Experience Week programme in July 2023, this will become our standard offer to local high schools each academic year, with details for the 2023/24 academic year to follow.
Please check with your school if it is participating in our Team Wigan Work Experience programme. Applications for this programme will be managed by the school. If you are not able to take part in the programme you may wish to complete the request form.
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College Students
Local young people who are enrolled onto a college course may also seek to secure a work experience placement with Wigan Council.
Our Employment Pathways team works closely with local colleges, including Wigan and Leigh, St John Rigby and Winstanley to set up placements for students.
If you are studying with one of these colleges, please talk to your tutor/work experience co-ordinator to find out how to apply.
If you are a Wigan resident and are not studying at one of these colleges then please make a request using the request form.
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University Students
We are keen to support local residents that are currently enrolled on a university course and seeking a work experience placement as part of their studies.
We work in partnership with several local universities offering social work student placements. If you require a first or final placement, please contact your placement tutor in the first instance.
Over recent years we have supported a variety of ad hoc requests from local university students studying in areas such as Town Planning, Law and Business & Management. We believe that supporting work experience of this nature for residents will not only enable you to achieve your course requirements, but also gain valuable experience in the world of work.
We would love to see students and graduates coming to work for Team Wigan.
If you are studying any other courses, please complete the request form, choosing ‘university student’ from the list of options.
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Graduates
Similarly, to current university students, if you are a local resident who has recently graduated and is seeking work experience opportunities, please complete the form below, choosing ‘graduate’ from the list of options.
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Volunteering
There are lots of similarities between work experience placements and volunteering. Wigan Council recognises the vital role that volunteering plays in helping our local organisations, including community and voluntary groups and charities.
As a volunteer you will benefit from gaining new skills, work experience and you may even be able to complete a qualification. Volunteering is a great way to boost your confidence, add something great to your CV and give something back to your local community.
Wigan Council offer a range of volunteering opportunities including libraries, Be Well and the Culture Team, with further details on our volunteering webpage.
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Care Leavers
At Wigan Council we take a huge amount of pride in our role as corporate parents. In addition to the wide array of support we provide to care experienced residents in other aspects of their lives, this is also the case from an employment and skills perspective.
We have developed a number of pathways into employment over recent years that have led to some real success stories with care leavers progressing into jobs and apprenticeships with the council and with local businesses.
Work experience forms a crucial part of this journey, and we will endeavour to support care experienced residents with suitable opportunities where we can do so.
If you are a local care leaver who would benefit from a placement of this nature, speak to your PA or complete the form below.
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Other Requests
If you are a local resident who would benefit from a work experience placement with Wigan Council but does not fall into any of the categories above, we are still able to consider ad hoc requests. This could include anyone looking to return to work, seeking a change in career or currently not studying and would like the opportunity to find out what it is like to work for Team Wigan.
Please complete the form below, choosing ‘other’ as the type of placement. As with other requests, unfortunately we cannot guarantee the placement can be accommodated, but we will endeavour to support these where possible.
Please note that requests for placements as part of a Duke of Edinburgh award should be made through our volunteering webpage.
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Additional information about the application process
Timescales
Please note that requests for work experience placements in all areas detailed above should be made at least 6 weeks prior to any proposed start date, in order to allow sufficient time for the request to be considered and if agreed for the necessary checks to be undertaken and preparations made.
Health and Safety
All work experience placements will be subject to a risk assessment to ensure your safety.
Paid placements
As far as work experience placements are concerned, all are unpaid. We are, however, currently developing a paid internship model that will offer short-term paid internships across participating council services.
Traineeships and Apprenticeships
We have a variety of apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship opportunities available throughout the year. Apprenticeships include subject areas like administration, customer service, accountancy, construction trades, horticulture and more.
We are also actively involved in a number of traineeship programmes that run throughout the year, including the Step Into Care traineeship that has a focus on the health and social care sector.
Age restrictions on placements
In the majority of cases there would be no age restriction, although there are exceptions, and this would be dependent on the host service and the nature of the placement. This may not be confirmed until the risk assessment has been carried out.
- We offer work experience placements for students between Year 10 to 13
- For volunteering you must be over 13 years of age.
Submisisons and decisions
We ask for all requests to be submitted at least 6 weeks in advance of the proposed placement start date.
It may be possible for a decision to be made earlier than this, but we cannot guarantee this.
We would ask you not to submit any requests that are due to start in less than 6 weeks as these will not be considered.
Teams offering the placements
How to request a work experience placement
Please complete the application form and a member of the team will get back to you. Ensure you have looked which team you would prefer to work with prior to completing the form.
Request a work experience placement