SAGEA’s Candidate Insights study shows that only 20% of graduates starting in new roles in 2024 had previous experience with the employer they joined and that 40% of graduates entering the world of work have no relevant work experience at all. A comparison to previous years shows that there has been a decline in these numbers between 2020 and 2024, when 25% had previous experience with their employer and 35% had no relevant work experience. A 5% decline is not serious, but it does beg the question, “why?” We chatted to Joanna Preston, Head of Young Talent at FNB to find out more.
Beyond the professional services firms, there is a shortage of opportunities for students to gain meaningful experience and exposure to potential employers. Think about it like this – how likely would you be to buy a car that you had not test-driven? A student’s entry into the world of work is arguably more significant than buying a car – so, as an employer, why not provide more opportunities for a test drive? The benefits to both the student and the organisation are numerous:
- Hosting work experience opportunities can help you to develop a future pipeline from which to recruit.
- These opportunities provide valuable insights to both parties – as the employer you can evaluate an individual’s potential fit with your organisation, culture and certain roles within the organisation.
- Similarly, the student gains insight into your organisation culture, the kind of people they might work with and whether they are suited to certain future roles.
With these benefits, why are there fewer opportunities for students to gain hands-on exposure and experience with employers? Potential reasons might be:
- The perceived cost of bringing students into the business, providing them with training, resources and payment.
- Concerns that there may not be enough meaningful work to give to students.
- A lack of buy-in or support from business.
In Joanna’s view, these concerns are easily mitigated by pre-empting the following:
- Collaboration between Talent Acquisition and Learning and Development to compile value-add projects and work that can be shared with students – that are easily manageable for line managers.
- Use can be made of recent graduates who have joined the business – to partner with students you are bringing in for work experience. Commitment to sharing their learning and experience is likely to be high!
- Yes, you do need to pay students for work experience and pay must be fair and at least cover a student’s expenses for their time at work. A stipend of between R1 500-R2 000 per week is a suggested starting point.
- Offering a high tech and high touch digital work experience programme, such as FNB’s Work Insights Programme (see case study, below) provides meaningful experience, exposure, two-way interaction and is scalable.
- Employers can also consider offering micro-internships or engaging with faculty staff to explore options for collaborative projects that combine teaching and learning for students.
- Finding creative ways to provide work sampling through interactive games and competitions, such as FNB’s Dataquest (see case study, below) can also be a way of providing work exposure.
Work Experience Case Study: FNB’s Insights Program
One of the best ways to recruit top talent is through a personal connection with your organisation, giving you the opportunity to really get to know your potential hires. The toughest part is finding opportunities for meaningful work and access to data and organisational systems, not to mention the logistics involved!
At FNB, our Insights Program overcame these challenges. This is how it worked:
A hybrid approach helped to minimise costs while also including face-to-face networking opportunities. Our Future League week allowed students several days’ virtual access to business units during which they found out about exciting projects, how their degrees are applied in context and importantly we gave them a sense of the company culture. The week included opportunities for teambuilding, discussions with executives as well as current and former graduates, all of which achieved a sense of immersion way deeper than can be achieved on campus. By monitoring students’ participation and engagement, we were able to gain meaningful insights into the attendees and, inevitably we were able spot the proactive, curious and eager students with ease! The experience culminated with an in–person networking session between students and the hiring business unts, cementing engagement and insights for everyone.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that offering students any kind of work experience results in increased offer acceptance rates, reduces reneges, improves retention rates and results in higher productivity if students join an organisation whose systems and processes are already familiar.
Case Study: FNB’s Dataquest Competition
FNB’s Dataquest competition provides students with exposure to real-life tasks they might have to perform if they join the bank. Hosted virtually over two days, an existing business problem is presented to the students (usually one that has already been solved by the business!) along with an anonymised dataset.
Over the two days, students are exposed to keynote talks and relevant masterclasses and have access to virtual “coaching rooms” where they can ask for advice on how to solve the problem. Following the two days, students are given two weeks to work on the solution, individually or in teams, after which they are required to submit a recorded presentation.
The top three submissions are guaranteed interviews for the graduate program along with cash prizes. Students have an opportunity to learn and practice skills and the submissions are an excellent assessment tool in the hiring process. This has been a hugely successful initiative, and we have consistently hired the top three students!
In Joanna’s experience, the benefits far outweigh the growing pains or cost of implementing work experience initiatives – and you can always start small and grow from there without having to break the bank!