Work Experience Framework

Recognise meaningful
Work Experience
Free for schools colleges & universities

A structured Work Experience (WEX) programme with built-in digital badges for Learners, Staff, and Employers. Designed with careers experts to raise quality, consistency, and impact.

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Structured

Clear steps before, during, and after placements to guide everyone involved.

Consistent Quality

Aligned to industry standards like with Gatsby Benchmark 6 and Career Enterprise

Supported

Ready-to-use resources for staff, learners, and host employers.

Evidence from government, employers, and education bodies consistently shows that work experience transforms outcomes for young people.

Why Work Experience Matters

1. Employment outcomes

Government and NIESR research found that 19–24 year olds who took part in work experience were significantly more likely to find sustained employment and less likely to rely on benefits.

2. Skills development

CIPD and UK Parliament research show that only one in four employers believe young people are work‑ready. Work experience builds essential skills, confidence, and awareness of workplace expectations

Motivation & attainment

Teachers and pupils report that students return from placements more motivated, with many improving academic performance and even securing part‑time jobs or apprenticeships as a direct result.

A ready to use Work Experience badged framework

Sub head

For Learners

  • Confidence – travel, time management, and workplace readiness

  • Skills – workplace behaviours, communication, and teamwork

  • Clarity – reflect on experiences to shape future choices

  • Recognition – earn a badge that signals independence, responsibility, and career awareness

Trusted by partners

For Educators

  • Capability – tools and confidence to support meaningful placements

  • Impact – guide learners effectively before, during, and after placement

  • Partnerships – build stronger employer relationships for future opportunities

  • Consistency – deliver high-quality WEX aligned with Gatsby Benchmark 6

For Employers

  • Host – provide safe, supportive, inclusive, high-quality placements

  • Commit – nurture young talent, set benchmark for others

  • Connect – strengthen ties with education and business community

2. Explore existing free templates – like WorkSkills for employability

“They made skills development visible and easy and Workskills are now are being used nationally.”

Cameron King Belfast Council

3. Leverage AI – paste your syllabus into Badge Assistant

“Writing badges went from months to minutes — absolute game-changer.”

Michael Cane Belfast Council

2. Quality-assure your badges – use the Navigatr QA process

“Badges provide employers with a trusted way to verify essential skills.”

Beth McCabe Delivery Manager

6. Switch on JobsFeed – show live roles to learners

“Learners can see live roles as they progress — it changes motivation instantly.”

Sinéad O’Regan Employability & Skills Manager

5. Measure what matters – track reporting time, interview rates & learner confidence

“Reporting time dropped dramatically — it’s now live data we can act on.”

Dawn Hall, OBE Executive Manager Employment and Skills

How Navigatr Helps Councils

Digital badges simplify collaboration, evidence impact instantly, and connect every learner with real opportunity — all within a framework that scales across departments and providers.

Make reporting instant — and actionable.

Move from months of manual data collection to insight at a click. Real-time tracking lets you evidence participation, progression and outcomes — supporting both delivery teams and policy decisions.

Create consistency across programmes.

Standardised templates and endorsement layers make it easy for multiple providers to issue badges under one quality-assured structure. Language, visuals and metadata stay consistent, while content stays local.

Link learning to live jobs.

As learners progress through pathways, they can see live roles matched to their skills — building motivation and connecting training directly to opportunity.

Build employer recognition.

Work with local and regional employers to embed badges into recruitment and workforce development. Recognise inclusive hiring, upskilling and partnership through employer-facing badges.

Scale support sustainably.

Badge School enables every new team or provider to onboard quickly, maintain quality, and reduce ongoing support needs across departments.

Leverage AI to move faster.

AI Badge Assistant turns existing learning content into draft badges in seconds. Teams can design, test and launch new pathways quickly — with quality assurance built in.

Navigatr brings learners, providers and employers together through digital badges — verified, shareable credentials that make skills visible and portable.

“Lets connect learning and build inclusive learning pathways for all with digital badges.”

Martyn Long - Head of employment and skills at Leeds City Council