Work experience and placements

Business Action on Homelessness

Business Action on Homelessness (BAOH) was developed by Business in the Community in 1998, in its own words as "a unique partnership between business, homeless agencies and the Government. It aims to break the vicious cycle of ‘no job, no home’ by helping homeless people to find employment and live independently." BAOH counts 350 companies among its partners, and operates in 22 cities in the UK and Ireland. In the past five years, it has helped 27,000 people. Applicants must be 'job ready', and homeless or recently homeless, to participate.

The BAOH model comprises four key areas:

• Ready for work A two or four week work placement with a company. Placement providers include Marks & Spencer, KPMG, Bain & Company, Carillion, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and Royal Mail.
• Action Day After completion of a placement, participants attend an Action Day to identify next steps and receive advice and signposting information about what to do next.
• The Client Support Network provides peer support to participants while

• Job coaches provide ongoing (up to 6 months) job coaching and support to find and maintain a job. Coaches are sourced from BAOH's corporate partners.
• Follow this link to contact your regional BAOH manager

• Read a case study: Carillion and Shekinah Mission that describes the partnership between a major UK construction firm and trainees of Shekinah Mission's Steady Work scheme. Or, read a BBC article and hear Brett's story on the placements.

If you are a hostel provider, and would like more information please follow the link: information for hostels, or if you are a business, please see the section Employers: take action.

Work placements

This section has been developed from OSW's good practice guide to work placements. It covers some basic principles of work placements and good practice tips.

• Download the OSW Work Placement good practice guidance as a PDF.

A work placement is a fixed amount of time an individual spends with an employer learning about a specific sector, carrying out specific tasks and developing work based skills such as team working and time management.

Whilst on work placement it’s expected that the individual would be contributing to the day-to-day operations of the organisation.

The focus of the placement should be on the individual’s personal and skills development. Individuals on placement can be given either a short term contract of employment or be recruited on a voluntary basis, which offers more flexibility but is unpaid (travel and subsistence expenses are reimbursed).

What’s the difference between volunteering and a work placement?

The question of ‘what’s the difference between volunteering and a work placement?’ is raised when the work placement is unpaid and the worker is not given a contract of employment. Instead the placement is taken on a flexible voluntary basis with the individual only receiving expenses for travel and subsistence. The difference is that a work placement provides a ‘real’ experience of work in terms of role and responsibilities and expectations. The recruitment and selection procedure must provide the individual with a ‘taster’ of what they could expect if applying for a paid role.

When the individual is on placement they are then an equal member of the team and provided with the opportunity to develop and participate in staff training and team meetings. There is the expectation that the individual will make a commitment to the placement in terms of hours per week and number of weeks or months. The individual can expect to be given tasks, which contribute to the organisation, and they can expect to be given training and coaching to complete these tasks. They should also have supervision with a supervisor for support and guidance, a personal development plan and an exit strategy, which continues to move them towards employability.

Positive benefits of work placement

The positive benefits for individuals taking up a placement:

• Developing and improving vocational and generic workplace skills;
• Increasing confidence in relation to taking up paid employment;
• Support in developing future goals in relation to education, training and employment;
• Managing a change to their lifestyle into a structured routine required for employment;
• Gaining a reference that they can take forward to future employers.

The benefits for staff members:

• Opportunity for staff to develop their mentoring and supervisory skills;
• Resources for their team;
• Increased awareness of the needs of multiple disadvantaged groups.

The benefits for the organisation:

• Can fill gaps or potential roles in an organisation;
• Encourage and support client participation and involvement;
• Support the employment of homeless and ex-homeless individuals in the organisation.