How sole traders, micro businesses or freelancers can get involved in industry placements

If you're a small business, sole trader, or freelancer, you can still create a valuable and dynamic experience for students through an industry placement.

You’ll need to decide on the best delivery approach and organise:

• time to set up the placement and supervise the student
• enough work for the student to make it worthwhile
• space for the student to work safely
• equipment to carry out the tasks
• health and safety training and guidance
• insurance

If you're interested in offering an industry placement, get in touch with T Level providers near you. 

Decide on the best delivery approach

There are several different options which may make it easier for you to deliver a placement as a small business, sole trader or freelancer. These delivery approaches allow you to collaborate with other employers, take students into your workplace for some but not all of the placement hours, and link the placement to part-time work that students do. Look at the various approaches and decide whether any of them:

• are applicable to the placement
• would benefit the student.

Find out more about delivery approaches 

Health and safety

Under health and safety law, students are employees – treat them like any other young people you employ. Employer liability insurance covers placements, provided your insurer is a member of the association of British insurers or Lloyds.

Find out more on the Health and Safety Executive's website. 

Space

If you work in a shared space with other companies or start-ups, they might be able to help with health and safety requirements or insurance.

If you don’t have enough room for another person in your workspace, one of your clients or business contacts might be able to offer space or equipment. Students may also bring suitable devices from their school or college.

You could also work with a small group of students on the school or college premises for up to a third of the students’ total placement hours, either by overseeing a small team project or training and development activities.

For additional flexibility, the ‘Hybrid (remote) placement’ option may allow students to work remotely from their school or college or, in special cases, from home. Your school or college can provide more guidance on what’s possible.

Support with industry placements

Every student is enrolled with a school or college who will support you throughout the placement. Providers are experienced in managing all aspects of placements, including health and safety, and will work with you to make the process as straightforward as possible.

Find out more about how industry placements work

Sharing a placement

A students placement hour can be shared between two employers, so you can still offer a placement even if you can’t cover the full 315 hours on your own.

Your school or college will work with you to be as flexible as possible and meet the needs of you and your business.

"I want to offer a placement, but don’t have enough work to cover the minimum of 315 hours."

The provider can help find another employer for you to share the placement with.

"I’m a specialist, so it’s unlikely I’ll have the breadth of work to suit the student."

You can be paired up with another organisation that covers the things you don’t.

"I work with a bigger organisation and we want to offer an opportunity between us."

They could organise the placement and you could provide opportunities for the student to work with you on a specific project, or projects.

Find out more about sharing a placement with another employer

Work tasters

Students can take part in ‘work tasters’ for up to 35 hours. You could use this time to teach them one or two specific skills or let them ‘work shadow’ you to get a better idea of what you do. You could also arrange visits to clients or suppliers to give them more experience.

A taster is a good way to start—you can always offer a longer placement if it works out.

Find out more about work tasters

Small team projects

It may be possible for students to spend some of their placement time outside your organisation carrying out projects in small teams with their peers, alongside another employer or professional. Your school or college will advise you whether this is suitable for your student.

Industry placement examples for smaller businesses