Work Experience for Future Focused Students
Are you a talented state school student?
Are you looking to take control of your future and kickstart your career?
Commencing in Year 12, The Talent Tap is a multi-year, career focused programme and life changing experience. If your application is successful, you will not only gain invaluable, tailored insight into the world of work, you’ll also get personalised help and support accessing the roles you aspire to – and have the opportunity to build a wide network of contacts and new friends.
The Talent Tap process
Once we’ve received your completed online application and have confirmed that you fulfil our criteria (scroll down to see the list) you will be invited to interview. If successful, you will be welcomed onto our programme and given full access to all the support that we offer.
The work experience
- Business, Management & Consulting
- IT & Tech
- Marketing, Media & Events
- Architecture, Design & Engineering
- Banking, Finance & Accountancy
- Law
- STEM
- Film & Talent
- Politics / Not for Profit
- Real Estate
FAQ
You can still apply to be part of The Talent Tap if you will be under 18 at the time of the programme. Although you would not be able to attend residentials yet, The Talent Tap offers many opportunities for support – such as mentoring and bursaries – that you would be eligible for, whatever your age. The Talent Tap is not a “one-off” experience – we provide support throughout your final year of 6th form and all the way through until you apply for your first “real” job, therefore there is plenty of time to be involved in the residential experiences.
You can still apply to be part of The Talent Tap – we do use some eligibility criteria as part of our application form and so we can easily determine if The Talent Tap is able to help you. We appreciate that where your school is located may not always be the best indicator of your own social mobility barriers, so do include any relevant information on your application form or email us at team@thetalenttap.com.
The Talent Tap focuses on city-based, professional careers which do not have their own designated path of training and work experience. If you are looking at a career area outside of those listed please refer to our eligibility criteria, or drop us an email on team@thetalenttap.com and we will let you know if it is an area we could support you in.
We offer as much support as we can to our student when they are not with us on residential – we have a mentoring programme that connects students with professionals from our business partners, we offer UCAS application and personal statement mentoring for our Year 12s and Year 13s, we have Zoominars produced with our business partners that give insight into many different career areas, we offer bursaries for travel to university open days, and much more. The Talent Tap takes a pastoral approach and you each matter to us individually – and if you need support at any time you can email team@thetalenttap.com.
When you become part of The Talent Tap you are able to sign up to our mentoring programme – we offer both sustained (long-term) and flash (one-off) mentoring sessions with professionals from our business partners.
Our residential programme takes place in the weeks immediately after the end of University and A-level examinations. Historically this has been the last week in June and the first three weeks in July. We run two, two week programmes over the summer and we aim to fit around both your availability and the availability of the work experience placements suited to you.
We do apply eligibility criteria to our applications – what exactly these are in terms of GCSE/A Level grades depends on the school you have come from. You can find more information in the eligibility section. We are aware, however, that the location of your school and a list of grades on a page is not always the full story, so please do email us with any relevant information or to discuss eligibility on team@thetalenttap.com.
You can still apply to The Talent Tap. We do have some eligibility criteria so please let us know the name of your school in the “other” box on the application form, or drop us an email on team@thetalenttap.com, and let us know about your school and where you live. Please do include any relevant information about your circumstances in your application or email also – there are many barriers to social mobility and we will always help where we can.
There is NO cost to any student joining The Talent Tap programme, and no cost to their school/college/university. All costs of accommodation, travel, subsistence and necessary equipment will be paid for by The Talent Tap.
This is not a problem! As long as your new career choice fits The Talent Tap eligibility criteria we will continue to support you. The Talent Tap is here to help you find a career path you are passionate about – and we all change our minds from time to time!
We hope that you will stay with The Talent Tap and take advantage of the opportunities we can offer you – 80% of our students return to us after their first Talent Tap experience and we hope you will be one of them. However, if you decide the programme is not for you we do not ask you to pay anything back.
The Talent Tap uses high quality university accommodation for its residential courses. You would stay in a self-contained flat alongside other Talent Tap students, with your own bedroom and en suite bathroom, and have access to common rooms and other shared facilities. If you have any concerns or questions about the accommodation please email us on team@thetalenttap.com.
We judge this on a case-by-case basis depending on the company you are working with – we will discuss this with you, in a timely manner, before you embark on the programme. Many of our programmes do involve going to the offices of professional firms and as such we ask that our students have smart clothes to wear. HOWEVER we never want you to go and spend money you can’t afford so if you do not feel you have anything suitable you can email us on team@thetalenttap.com to discuss.
When you join The Talent Tap we do ask for a level of commitment, and work under the assumption that you will attend for the whole two weeks. You really will get the best out of The Talent Tap’s opportunities by attending the whole programme – plus we have to source work experiences with our business partners, book suitable accommodation and budget for travel and subsistence expenses. We are, of course, sympathetic to changes in circumstances – just please do let us know at the earliest opportunity.
If you have been introduced to The Talent Tap through your school, click ‘apply now’ to fill out our online application form before the deadline you have been given.
If this is the first time you’ve heard about The Talent Tap, you can still apply directly now and we’ll get in touch with your school on your behalf so that we can process your application.
Criteria for application to
The Talent Tap programme:
You must -
- Be over the age of 18 at the time the Summer programme starts (so in year 12 or 13 at time of applying)
- Have attended only UK State Schools (or since the age of 14 if educated abroad)
- Not currently be boarding at school (or if boarding, the cost is not funded by your parent or guardian)
- Not be applying to study veterinary medicine, dentistry, social work, teaching or psychology (to pursue as a career)
- Not wishing to pursue a career in the emergency services
And we will take the following into consideration -
- School location
- Your access to employment opportunity
- Eligibility to Free School Meals
- Parental employment and qualifications
- Performance at interview
- Grade predictions
- Future career aims and aspirations
