Work-based experience Preparation

Work based experience in sport Could be a life changing time !! How are you going to the placement ? How long does the journey take Be early Take a diary with you to make notes what you have done during the day

Things to do Check what time you start What you need to wear Planned activities – they want you to do Be enthusiastic – reliable – helpful – use your initiative E.g. If you are working in a school with a PE teacher ask if you can take the warm up / cool down – plan out beforehand on paper

Things to do Act in a mature manner as you are now a member of staff Remember some staff might need privacy to speak to management so use your initiative and leave the room Codes of practice – look at them and adhere to them

Things to do Customer care Greet the customer politely Listen to the customer Respond politely Deal with a customer’s complaint or find someone who can Be helpful

Things to do Health and safety – legislation and regulation Induction – you might have to have one Staff will show you what to do e.g. fire alarm – accidents – setting up equipment

Things to do Equal opportunities All employers must treat employees equally regardless of gender – race – religion – sexual orientation - ability

Things to do Quality assurance Products and services meet or exceed expectations Follow the required guidelines and procedures to achieve this You could be assessed by your employer in your ability to meet their expectations

Things to do Specific skills In certain situations you could be required to posses specific skills – qualifications or experiences E.g. Coaching – first aid – working with children – insurance

Things to do While you are on work placement it is good practice to find out certain information that will also help you in your assignment What does the organisation do and who are its customers ? What is the organisation’s customer service policy ? Apart from those that you are studying find out what other qualifications would be useful or needed to get a full time job in the organisation Give six examples of the organisation’s rules and regulations (Codes of Practice) What is the organisation’s health and safety policy ? What is the emergency evacuation procedure ? Who is the first-aid officer and where is the first-aid kit ? What is a risk assessment and why would you carry one out ?

Record Diary and daily activities When on placement record all your experiences in the form of a daily log book Record the achievements which you have attained for each day – look at your strengths and areas to improve upon Identify in your diary what you have learned and exactly what you did during each day

Record Achievement of goals – aims – objectives (personal – organisational – relating to qualification / study) Learn as much as you can about as many different aspects of the sports industry as possible You will be asked to review the aims – objectives – targets you set before you went on your placement – have you achieved them? Set yourself new ones for your work experience