Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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494. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there is legislation which specifies the rights and responsibilities of employers towards students in post-primary education undertaking unpaid work experience, as part of a third level or second level course; if legislation is required to protect young persons from potential exploitation in these situations. [41555/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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There is no specific piece of legislation that governs work experience for second level students in, for example, Transition Year or Leaving Certificate Applied courses. However, there are many established supports to good practice, by both employers and students in these cases, including:

- guidelines on work placement from the PDST and coordinators' organisations;

- extensions of school insurance policies to cover work placement contexts for students;

- contemporaneous monitoring of work placement by teacher visits and/or phone calls;

- evaluation reports by employers and students of the work placement experience immediately afterwards;

- DES inspection recommendations that work experience remain controlled and not otherwise disrupt the integrity of the programme.

These are established aspects of custom and practice in the Irish system, often supplemented by extra supports depending on circumstances of employment, such as additional safety training. Schools are encouraged to evaluate their work placement programmes annually, and this helps the development of reliable, quality employment opportunities, linked in most instances to the local community.

The question refers to students taking third-level courses while in post-primary school. This would not be the norm.

The rules and practice governing the relationship between schools and employers in the area of work experience is a matter for the schools and local employers themselves. Access to work experience for second level students is an extremely valuable element of education and provides students with experience and knowledge that will help inform decisions regarding future studies and career options.