As part of the TMD London partnership, OSW ran a work placement scheme which provided homeless individuals with the opportunity to experience working in a 'real' office environment, with tasks and responsibilities they could expect if they were employed as an administrative assistant. The scheme ran from January 2006 to August 2007 and provided six placements, each lasting three months.

This work placement programme has enabled OSW to actively advocate a model which moves individuals towards employment. It has provided good practice, to encourage and campaign for other homelessness organisations to develop their own in-house work placement schemes for those with multiple disadvantages. This good practice has been disseminated through the OSW Good Practice Guide to Work Placement Schemes (924 Kb).

The best practice knowledge and experience, gained through the implementation of the work placement scheme, has developed the following key principles with examples from the OSW work placement programme.

The Individual’s benefit

A work placement is for the benefit of the individual and their personal development. Work placements should not be regarded as an opportunity for free labour and a helper in the workplace. The placement will be contributing to the completion of tasks and the objectives of the organisation, but these tasks should not be menial. The tasks allocated should meet the individual’s needs or interest to either learn a new skill or improve an existing one.  A personal development plan should be discussed when they start, which identifies the individual’s learning and training needs, and then an action plan should be agreed as to how these needs will be met during the placement.

Real skills and experience

A work placement should provide an individual with the opportunity to experience working in a 'real' office environment, with tasks and responsibilities they could expect if they were employed. Tasks should not be created for the sake of providing work; they should be actual tasks that require support or completion. Each new task should be presented as to how the task contributes to the team or organisation, as well as the skills they will be gaining by carrying out the task. This helps them understand their role and their input is recognised and valued. This experience will also give them the opportunity to discover what career suits them, e.g. whether they enjoy working in an office environment or whether they would prefer interaction with customers.

Give responsibility and encourage involvement

Provide a clear job role and description with a job title e.g. ‘Administrative Assistant’ so they feel part of the team and for when they are dealing with individuals outside the organisation they are taken seriously rather than regarded as ‘just the work experience’. Allocate them on-going tasks which become their responsibility e.g. maintaining and updating in-house access databases and contact databases. Where possible in line with the individual's skills and interests, let them develop their own projects or research e.g. an individual on placement who had an interest in Travel and Tourism was able to source tourism information, maps, venues and costs for when the organisation hosted events for visiting European colleagues.

Move towards employability

Encourage the individual to think about what happens after the placement i.e. ‘what do they want to achieve next?’ ‘What are their aspirations?’ from these discussions their supervisor will be able to support them according to their needs and goals with an exit strategy, which ensures they continue their progress towards employment. This process starts while they are on placement, with their supervisor providing coaching and support e.g. advising on their CV content and layout; mock interviewing coaching; and allowing time for them to use resources to search for employment, voluntary or training opportunities.

Flexibility and support

Provide the individual with a mentor or supervisor so they have someone approachable so they can turn to with any difficulties. The supervisor should be responsible for the individual’s well-being, support meetings, training, coaching and allocation of tasks. The supervisor needs to be empathic to the needs of those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. They need an  flexible approach to support those individuals who may be experiencing personal difficulties and anxiety, which prevents them from participating in the placement. There should not be any assumptions made about the individual's prior experience or knowledge of the skills and behaviour required in a work environment. Therefore the supervisor needs to coach the individual on gaps in knowledge e.g. using IT systems, according to the need of the individual.

Good working environment

It’s important that the organisational and team staff know when a work placement is going to start and that they support the programme and its aims. Staff should be encouraged to make the individual feel welcome, as walking into a work environment for those who have little or no work experience can be a daunting prospect. They may be anxious as to whether they will ‘fit in’ and how staff will react to them. It’s important they are provided with their own workstation rather than ‘hot desking’, so they feel they are taken seriously and are part of the team. This is less disruptive for the individual and fosters a sense of ownership and value.