Topic: Work experience
Company name: Shetland Seafood Auctions
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 Shetland Seafood Auctions
Shetland Seafood Auctions is an electronic seafood auction based in Lerwick. It offers a flexible system that allows buyers to purchase directly or through a remote facility.

Total number of employees
7.

Operational countries
While the company is based in Shetland, the online system allows them to sell further-a-field.

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 workplace experience.

Project name
Shell Step programme.

Project manager
Martin Leyland, auction manager.

Length of scheme
Shetland Seafood Auctions have been offering eight week work experience placements for the last two years.

Work experience structure
• Shetland Seafood auctions began offering work experience placements using the Shell Step programme. This scheme offers second year or penultimate year undergraduates the chance to assist small to medium sized companies with specific projects during their eight week summer break. 

• Applicants’ talents are matched to the specific project offered by the company, who then interviews the candidates and choose the person that they feel would be best suited to the project and the company. 

• Students also write a report on their placement and produce a presentation to be entered into the Step Awards. 

• Over the last two years projects offered by Shetland Seafood auctions have included database work and a marketing and promotional project. They have also gone onto employ a marketing graduate, who was recruited via a local graduate placement scheme, to continue the work started by previous work placement student.

Benefits
• Working within a small company, such as Shetland Seafood Auctions, enables the student to experience a wide variety of tasks as well as close mentoring, which may not always be possible in larger companies. 

• In addition to this, the company benefits from getting particular projects done that they may not have previously had the personnel or time to do.

Results
• Last year's placement student worked on a project to market the new development of online sales. Previously the company only had local sales but as a result of the work experience placement, Shetland Seafood Auctions are now able to sell to a far wider audience.

• In the short-term, work experience students who go to Shetland Seafood Auctions via the Shell Step Programme are unable to be retained as employees by the company, as they have to return to their studies. However, it has opened up the opportunity of using graduate placements for longer-term work.

• Shetland Seafood Auctions are finalists in the ‘Under 10 Employees’ category of the 2008 Awards.

Lessons
• Students must be provided with specific projects as this will allow them to flourish and demonstrate their initiative.

Future plans
• Shetland Seafood Auctions hope to continue to take on students, where it has projects available. 

• It also hopes to take on more graduate placements as the company develops.

Key tips

1. Plan and be prepared.

2. Provide the student with an interesting and challenging project.

3. Make sure mentoring is fully catered for; it's important that the student receives guidance so that they can learn.

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