Advice for Work Experience Organisers
Try this Work Experience Skills Assessment devised by RoSPA and the HSE and then take a look at some typical Work Experience Scenarios and put your skills to the test.
When arranging work experience, organisers need to know who is responsible for giving them any relevant information about students’ health problems or disabilities. Are these…
A. Parents/guardians
B. Students themselves
C. Education employers
D. All of the above
Answer 
What details of the student’s medical background does a placement provider need to know?
A. Allergies
B. Hearing and visual disabilities
C. Learning and language disabilities
D. Diabetes
Answer
The student also has responsibilities. Which of the following is the student responsible for?
A. His/her own health and safety
B. Reporting accidents/damage to the work placement provider
C. None of these, it is the placement provider’s responsibility
D. The health and safety of others
Answer
Which of the following can a 16 year old student do on his/her work placement?
A. Work in a bar
B. Use with supervision : food processor
C. Use with supervision : fork-lift truck
D. Use without supervision : coffee machine
Answer
Some students find their own placements. If a student finds his/her own placement do you require a risk assessment from the provider?
A. Organisers only need to visit the premises of those placements they themselves have found
B. Not if it is the student’s own family business
C. It depends on the type of business
D. You have the same duties towards students who find their own placements and/or are placed with their own family business.
Answer
Who has the main responsibility of ensuring that the workplace is safe as specified by health and safety laws?
A. You, the organiser
B. The placement provider
C. HSW and/or Local Authority
D. The student
Answer
When carrying out an initial assessment of a placement provider which of the following do you need to check?
A. Current Employer’s Liability Insurance Certificate
B. Current Health and Safety Policy and Poster
C. Name of supervisor
D. Current business vehicle insurance certificate
Answer
Do the same UK health and safety laws apply to work experience overseas?
A. The same laws apply if it is an EU country
B. Health and safety laws do not apply to work experience overseas, even in EU countries
C. You are only responsible for the planning and organisation but not the risk assessment
D. A young person under 16 should not do work experience abroad
Answer
Male workers tend to be employed in higher risk occupations than female workers. After allowing for this, do you think that:
A. Male workers are still 5% more likely to suffer a workplace injury than female workers?
B. Male workers are still 20% more likely to suffer a workplace injury than female workers?
C. Female workers are 5% more likely to suffer a workplace injury than male workers?
D. Female workers are 50% more likely to suffer a workplace injury than male workers?
Answer
Which of the following industries has the highest rate of major injuries to employees?
A. Construction
B. Transport, storage and communication
C. Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing
D. Quarrying of stone, ore and clay (not including extraction of coal, oil and gas)
Answer
Children on work experience have which of the following Health and Safety entitlements?
A. The same health, safety and welfare provisions as all other employees
B. No entitlements
C. Cover according to the Health and Safety Regulations only if over the age of 18
D. Cover only by school regulations and insurance
Answer
Children under 18 years of age, on work experience, may…
A. Use a power press without supervision
B. Use hand-fed woodworking machinery
C. Use a planing machine for surfacing
D. Use a bacon-slicer under supervision
Answer
A student on work experience thinks he needs personal protective equipment. Which of the following must the provider make available?
A. Eye protection when spraying agricultural pesticides
B. Eye protection when in bright sunlight
C. Filter masks when in workshops where sanders and saws are in use
D. Safety boots in wet surroundings
Answer
An organiser’s initial enquiries must ensure which of the following:
A. The placement provider has done a risk assessment before the placement begins
B. The placement provider’s Health and Safety Policy is written down only if there are 5 or more employees
C. The provider’s Health and Safety Policy is written down in all cases
D. That the employer has no criminal record
Answer
Which of the following should be done prior to a student attending a work placement?
A. A risk assessment by the provider
B. A site visit by the organiser
C. An exchange of information between the provider, parent/guardian and student
D. Training at school in skills required by the job
Answer
Where can you find help to devise a Health and Safety checklist to use when making a site visit?
A. From school administration
B. From the Local Authority
C. From the HSE
D. From the DfES
Answer
Which of the following is a legal requirement for any work experience employer?
A. Transport assistance for the student
B. Drinking water
C. Access to a phone in the event of an emergency
D. A 15-minute break every 2 hours worked
Answer
In the event of an accident when undertaking their work experience placement, is a student entitled to injury benefits?
A. Yes
B. No
Answer
Which of the following is the legal hourly limit an adolescent worker could be expected to work in a week?
A. 38
B. 42
C. 46
D. 48
Answer
In the space of a 7-day week how many days off is a work experience student entitled to?
A. None
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3
Answer
Which of the following is an employer legally obliged to do in the event of a student receiving an injury whilst on the placement?
A. Inform both the parents/guardians and the school
B. Inform the school
C. Inform the relevant enforcing authority
D. Inform all parties concerned
Answer
Which of the following is the maximum penalty for failing to comply with Safety regulations?
A. A fine of up to £5,000
B. A fine of up to £3,000
C. A fine of up to £3,000 and six months imprisonment
D. A fine of up to £5,000 and six months imprisonment
Answer
Following a risk assessment of the workplace, which of the following must you legally provide?
A. Verbal information regarding the result of the assessment to the student and the parents/guardians
B. A letter stating the findings of the assessment to parents/guardians
C. A summarised report to parents/guardians
D. The basic job description for the parents/guardians
Answer
By law, which of the following risk assessments conducted by the employer is considered acceptable when providing a placement for a student?
A. An assessment conducted during the work placement
B. The use of a previous risk assessment conducted for the full time employees
C. An assessment conducted after the placement
D. An assessment conducted for a worker aged under 18 before the placement
Answer
