Southwest Work Experience Partnership

Sparking the imagination of thousands

Empowering young people across the Southwest through meaningful work experience and employer partnerships.

Vision Statement

To be the trusted partner for educational establishments across the Southwest, ensuring their learners access safe, high-quality work experience opportunities. Through rigorous placement checks, strong employer relationships, and a commitment to excellence, SWEP empowers education providers to deliver meaningful, real-world learning that supports informed career choices and prepares young people for successful futures.

The Southwest Work Experience Partnership

We proudly support educational establishments across the Southwest in delivering high-quality work experience opportunities. Whether it’s enabling a small number of students to access ad hoc or extended placements, or coordinating large cohorts heading out on block placements, we’re here to make the process seamless.

Our service provides work experience coordinators and students with access to a comprehensive database that manages the entire process from start to finish. Students can browse a bank of health-and-safety-approved placements or propose their own, which we will then process. Our team of professional, qualified H&S Assessors works across the region to personally approve each placement, building strong relationships with employers while ensuring the environment, tasks, and equipment meet the highest standards. All essential administration, including parental consent forms and employer agreements, can be completed within the database.

We pride ourselves on being approachable and supportive; we’re always just a phone call or email away. Our passion for what we do shines through in the feedback and testimonials we receive from schools year after year. We continually enhance our wraparound resources and introduce new functionality to improve the experience. Recent developments include a SEND-friendly placement search feature, and we’re currently working on launching Equalex functionality and reporting to align with Careers and Enterprise Company.

About Us

The Southwest Work Experience Partnership brings together schools, colleges, and employers to create high-quality work experience opportunities. Our mission is to inspire ambition, build confidence, and prepare the next generation for successful careers.

Kim Record – Southwest Work Experience Partnership Placement Administrator

Rebecca Cody – Southwest Work Experience Partnership Manager

What We Do

Our Commitment to Safe Work Experience

At Southwest Work Experience Partnership, we go beyond the basics. Every work placement is personally risk assessed by our team before a young person starts.

This in-person assessment ensures:

A safe and supportive environment for students.

Compliance with all safeguarding and health & safety requirements.

Peace of mind for employers, parents, and education providers.

Why Risk Assessments and Onsite Visits Matter

Conducting a thorough risk assessment combined with an onsite visit is the most effective way for a school to safeguard its students – and protect its own reputation. By taking these steps, schools demonstrate a genuine commitment to student safety and wellbeing.

What sets us apart is our hands-on approach: we don’t rely on paperwork alone. Every placement is personally visited and assessed to ensure it meets the highest standards of safety and quality.

Our Impact

We have a database of placement opportunities searchable by sector and region containing over 10,000 listings

In 24/25 8,285 learners were uploaded to the Veryan database

6,097 learners were successfully allocated to work experience placements

Currently we have 57 schools working with us and some in process of onboarding or enquiry.

Our Quality & Safety Assurances

100% of placements are risk assessed.

Our Growth

We are proud to successfully serve Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Bath, Bristol, and beyond.

What Makes Us Different?

In-Person Workplace Assessments

Every placement is visited by a qualified assessor – not just checked via a digital form. We add the human element!

We meet the employer and their staff, review the tasks and tools students will use, and ensure compliance with young person prohibitions and risk assessments.

This hands-on approach provides real assurance for schools, parents, and employers.

Comprehensive Placement Database

A user-friendly system that supports the entire work experience process, from searching approved placements to managing paperwork like parental consent and employer agreements.

Streamlines administration for busy work experience coordinators, reducing workload and stress.

Human Support – we are people not a platform

We’re always available by phone, email, or Teams for advice, ideas, and problem-solving, and we love coming to your site.

Our service is personal, approachable, and built on years of experience; we are not an automated system.

Safety First – we catch what others miss

We reject unsafe placements that digital-only checks would approve.

Our diligence prevents students from being exposed to dangerous situations.

Employer Engagement and Satisfaction

Employers value our visits and the reassurance they provide.

We build strong relationships, trust and confidence that benefit both students and schools.

Experience and Expertise

We have years of specialist knowledge in work experience provision and health & safety.
Our continuous development of resources and database functionality, including SEND-friendly search and upcoming Equalex compliance tools.

Testimonials

“I am pleased to say Southwest Work Experience Partnership went above and beyond what was expected and managed to achieve the seemingly impossible, working all hours to ensure our student placements were all checked, and everything was in place for their week. I am extremely happy to be working with Southwest Work Experience Partnership, and they have been flawless in their delivery. I am looking forward to many more years of enjoying their friendly, accommodating and professional services and I highly recommend!”

Sir Bernard Lovell Academy

“The service you’ve provided is absolutely night and day compared to what we experienced previously. With the government’s proposal of all students eventually having ten days of work experience, I’m feeling confident we are in safe hands in terms of the H&S side of things with yourself.”

Bedminster Down School

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Shape the future workforce.