Haven launch new scheme to give Blackpool pupils a taste of holiday park work experience: Here's all you need to know

What will children learn on their work-experience with Haven?

Each week, from 13th June until 7th July, groups of Year-10 pupils will get to learn essential skills in areas across the park including guest experience, food & beverage management, facilities, and activities.

Participants will get to take a closer look at the varied career opportunities available at Haven and in the Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure industry more broadly.

Launched in collaboration with Highfield Academy, the week will also involve planting a flower bed and making their own Papa John’s pizzas for their lunch.

They will learn skills that will help them in their future careers, whatever they decide to do after school.

Pilot scheme to help local youth

It’s the first time that Haven has run a summer work experience scheme of this kind, and if successful, they hope to expand it across its 41 parks, to support more young people in the local communities it operates. Currently, 29% of all park team members are aged 16-20.

Dean Giles, Head of Learning and Development at Haven commented: “Our new work experience programme will bring to life the incredible range of options and excellent career pathways available without limits at Haven. The students of Highfield Leadership Academy are the future, and we are delighted to be helping them to recognise and harness their talent and potential, to give them the very best start in their chosen career.”

Fighting youth unemployment

As of June 2023, the ONS (Office for National Statistics) confirmed that over 1 million young people aged 16-24, are not in full-time education or employment. This figure has been consistent for the last 6 months, proving that there is more that needs to be done to support young people getting into employment. Blackpool currently has one of the highest levels of young people not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) in the UK, with 7 per cent of young people in Blackpool categorised as NEET in 2022/23 compared to 2.8 per cent nationally. This programme by Haven aims to tackle this issue by showing young people how rewarding a career in the hospitality and tourism industry could be.

Head Teacher/Head of Year at Highfield Leadership academy says, “Haven’s weekly work experience programme is an invaluable opportunity for our pupils to learn new skills and gain important experience to help them pursue future careers at Haven or in the wider Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism sector. We know that the pupils taking part will feel more confident about the world of work once they have had real-life experience of it, and I look forward to hearing all about their placements.”

Where can I learn more about the work experience programme?

Haven’s inaugural on-park work experience programme follows the nationwide introduction of the Haven Holidays Virtual Work Experience programme in partnership with Youth Employment UK. The virtual programme is free to all young people aged 11-30 with supporting education resources for Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 students.