Topic: Work experience
Company name: AppSwing
Scheme partner: National Council for Work Experience (NCWE)

About NCWE
The National Council for Work Experience is part of HECSU, the Higher Education Careers Services Unit. It promotes, supports and develops quality work experience for the benefit of students, organisations and the economy.

About Appswing
AppSwing develops and implements innovative technology solutions that enable organisations to change the way they work. In particular, the AppSwing Mobile Platform provides access via mobile devices such as BlackBerrys and PDAs to central systems, applications and databases; enabling staff to view and update information on the mobile device while away from the office. The company is based in Reading and was founded in 2003.

Total number of employees
9.

Operational countries
While AppSwing itself is based in the UK, it sells software to businesses worldwide.

Challenge
Often work experience is marred with images of tea-making and filing, but this is not the case with modern work experience programmes. Employers today face the challenge of implementing and maintaining a quality programme that benefits both the company and the individual. Structured programmes can enable companies to complete projects, recruit new employees and allow the student invaluable work place experience.

Project name
Shell STEP Programme and the KTP placement scheme.

Project manager
Neil Thompson, CEO and Daniel Phipps, technical manager.

Length of scheme
AppSwing have offered work experience placements for two years.

Work experience structure
• AppSwing offer a variety of work experience programmes, taking students from varying levels of education. Placements include students from local secondary schools, undergraduates on the STEP summer placement scheme, and recent graduates on the KTP scheme. 

• Both STEP and KTP students work on specific projects set by the company, as well as taking part in the day-to-day office work.

• STEP and KTP placements all start with a week of internal training, including a complete introduction to the AppSwing technology, to ensure that they are familiar with the company and understand what is expected of them during their placement. 

• The student is then placed within a small team in order to fully integrate them into the company and allow them to experience all aspects of worklife, which would not be achievable if they worked in isolation. 

• Throughout the programme the student reviews other people’s work and has their own work reviewed by the team in order to create a two-way feedback process.

Benefits
• Much of AppSwing’s approach to the work experience programme is driven by the CEO’s own experience during placements as a student. Therefore he is aware of what makes a work experience programme beneficial to a student, as well as to the company itself.

• The work experience programme gives all students who work at AppSwing an opportunity to experience a real working environment. They are treated like a full-time employee and therefore are able to contribute as such. 

• This can be enormously empowering for the student as they are given a lot of responsibility within a structured environment. It also allows them the opportunity to use their skills and knowledge and increase their understanding.

• In terms of the company, work experience placements allow AppSwing to carry out projects or small pieces of work that they would not otherwise have had the capacity to undertake.

Results
• Daniel Phipps, who manages the work experience programme, joined the company following a successful KTP placement at AppSwing and so personnel retention is one plus of the work experience programmes.

• However, students have also produced a number of proofs-of-concept to evaluate new products and solutions. In particular, one STEP student developed a new management tool for AppSwing’s technology, which has now been incorporated into the mainstream product.

• AppSwing are finalists in the ‘Under 10 Employees’ category at the 2008 NCWE Awards.

Lessons
• Following the first STEP placement, the company introduced a new training plan to ensure that the first few days a student spends with AppSwing are a positive and productive period which equips them properly for the work they going to do.

Future plans
• AppSwing are looking at suitable projects for further KTP placements, both continuing this within the technical team but also extending the programme to offer placements in the sales department. 

• It also plans to continue offering summer placements via the STEP scheme, but as a small company feels that it would not be practical to offer any more placements as they wouldn't be able to offer such high quality placements in terms of both costs and time.

Key tips

1. Plan in advance to have a meaningful but achievable project that is appropriate to the skills level of the placement.

2. Treat the student as you would any other employee and include them in all activities: this gives them a realistic view of working for your organisation.

3. Keep in touch after the placement: you then have a better chance that they will join you full time once they have completed their education.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

The National Council for Work Experience is part of HECSU, the Higher Education Careers Services Unit. It promotes, supports and develops quality work experience for the benefit of students, organisations and the economy. Its role includes disseminating information and good practice, encouraging the development of quality standards and encouraging more employers to provide placement opportunities. NCWE run an annual awards scheme to encourage and reward organisations that display good practice in work experience.


National Council for Work Experience and the Quality Mark accreditation scheme:
T: 0161 277 5267
E: workexperience@prospects.ac.uk
www.work-experience.org


ADDRESS:

National Council for Work Experience
Prospects House
Booth Street
Manchester
M13 9EP