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Work experience opportunities too often marked by inequalities

An investigation by Parliament's Youth Select Committee has found that who you are and where you live dictate the kind and quality of work experience you receive. Pete Henshaw looks at their report

Young people’s early experiences of work are “too often marked by inequalities”, with who you are, where you live and where you go to school dictating the type and quality of experiences you are likely to receive.

These stark inequalities are not only linked to socio-economic background, but also to factors such as health and disability, gender, ethnicity and geographic location.

These are key findings from an investigation into the barriers to work experience by Parliament’s Youth Select Committee.

Its report, published last week, welcomes the government’s decision in 2012 to move away from fixed two-week work placements during key stage 4 and to give schools more freedom to design bespoke work and employer experiences for students.

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