Remote working in industry placements

Introduction

This resource will help you:

• Understand when to use remote working in industry placements
• Decide whether remote working would work for you and the student
• Learn from other employers using remote working

It shows how to:

• Plan remote working, including where it takes place and how many hours the student spends working remotely
• Give the student meaningful tasks they can do remotely
• Provide equipment for the student to carry out these tasks
• Support them effectively during their remote working hours

The are three parts:

• Part 1 – Explains remote working in industry placements
• Part 2 – Summarises your role and the provider’s role
• Part 3 – Shows how employers are using remote working (video)

Remote working in T Level industry placements

Remote working is defined as time students spend away from the physical workplace and not in direct face-to-face contact with staff. 

T Level students may undertake industry placement hours remotely when it reflects normal working practices in your organisation. 

Where possible, remote working should account for no more than 20% of the student’s total industry placement hours. If the placement involves more than one employer, this limit should be applied across the whole placement, not separately to each employer. Students should spend most of their placement working face to face with an employer. In some sectors, such as digital, remote or hybrid working is a normal part of how roles are carried out, and regular attendance at a physical workplace may be less typical. In these cases, it may be appropriate for students to complete a higher proportion of their placement hours remotely, provided this reflects the way the role is usually delivered and the student receives clear tasks, regular support and supervision.

Remote working can benefit students by allowing them to:

• Experience the way in which many organisations operate – over half (58%) of UK employers allow employees to work from home remotely
• Develop skills for working remotely 

Roles 

As the employer, you should:

1. Agree with the provider whether it is appropriate for the student to work remotely and what form it will take, for example, once a week, or only after a settling in period.
2. Plan remote working carefully so that the student works purposefully and productively on meaningful tasks 
3. Provide any equipment the student needs to carry out these tasks, such as a work laptop and access to collaboration tools, e.g. Teams, Slack etc. 
4. Support the student and check-in with them regularly during their remote hours

Your provider (school or college) must:

2. Check that the student’s remote working arrangements are safe and suitable

• Confirm there are no safeguarding or safety concerns that would make remote working inappropriate
• Prepare the student to work remotely, including checking they can work independently, understand expectations and use online tools to communicate and collaborate
• Make sure the student has access to the equipment, systems and training they need to complete their placement tasks safely and effectively

Employers’ experience

The video shows how some employers are already using remote working as part of a ‘hybrid’ approach that combines remote hours with time spent face to face. It looks at how they:

• Plan remote working 
• Check in with the student when they are working remotely
• Provide equipment
• Start with face-to-face working before introducing remote working
• Help the student to develop remote working skills
• Give the student a meaningful project to carry out remotely
• Make clear what the expectations are when the student works remotely
• Use a virtual platform when the student can’t attend on site

Hybrid & Remote Placements