The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) has developed a scheme to assist both prospective employers and candidates to participate in a Work Experience programme.

The scheme, available in the UK and Ireland, enables employers to more easily access the calibre and experience of potential employees. In turn, it also provides prospective employees with an opportunity to gain from a structured work experience programme and recognised qualification to add to their CV.

The scheme has been developed to meet a need to raise standards within the sponsorship industry and to contribute to the availability of high-quality candidates. Many employers take on candidates to complete a period of ‘work experience’ for periods ranging from one to four weeks but, without any specific guidelines to follow, experiences vary.

The new “ESA Work Experience Certificate” (WEC) provides a clear, easy-to-follow framework in order to minimise interruption to the day-to-day running of a business and enables both parties to get the most benefit from the arrangement. It is exclusive to ESA member companies.

The scheme comprises three levels of qualification – Gold, Silver and Bronze – dependent on the employer’s business structure and duration of the candidate’s work experience period.

The recommended programme (format and subject matter) for each of the three levels is provided– Gold (1-3 months); Silver (2-4 weeks) and Bronze (1-2 weeks). The support material available provides a host of information relating to the legal requirements on payment levels; guidelines on how to administer the scheme; separate guidelines for both employers and candidates; ESA terms and conditions; a sample employer engagement letter and a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

ESA requests that member companies offering the WEC scheme first register their intention to do so with the Association – info@sponsorship.org . The programme and support material is available to download in the ‘members only’ section of the website, accessed by a password.