Work experience

What is work experience?

Our work experience placements offer you the opportunity to explore a range of career pathways across key service areas. Participants can gain insight into departments such as administration, finance, customer services, highways, libraries and our Innovation Labs and health and social care. 

Here’s what you can expect during your placement:

• Observe how different teams operate and contribute to public services
• Learn from experienced professionals who are passionate about their roles
• Take part in meaningful tasks and projects where appropriate
• Ask questions and gain insight into career paths you may not have considered
• Explore your career options and discover what roles interest you
• Build confidence in a professional setting
• Develop key skills such as communication, teamwork, time management, and problem-solving
• Understand how local government works and the impact it has on everyday life in Gloucestershire
• Strengthen your CV and future applications with real-world experience

Whether it’s for school, a T-Level or just to see what working in local government is like, our placements are flexible, friendly and full of learning.

Explore our services

Before you apply, take a look at what we’re all about by exploring our homepage. Gloucestershire County Council delivers a wide range of services from education and social care to highways and environmental planning and they're all aimed at improving life for residents across the county.

Why do your preferences matter?

We get lots of requests, so telling us what you’re into helps us find the best fit for you. The more we know about your aspirations, the better we can tailor your placement to be meaningful and relevant.

Exciting changes to GCC's work experience offer

Over the coming year, Gloucestershire County Council will be reviewing and developing its work experience programme to help us provide more meaningful, accessible, and impactful opportunities for young people.

As part of this work, we will be moving towards a cohort-based approach to work experience placements. Rather than offering primarily individual placements, we will be developing structured placement programmes that allow groups of students to gain valuable insight into different services across the Council, develop workplace skills, and benefit from a more consistent learning experience.

Information about upcoming placement cohorts, including eligibility criteria and application details, will be published throughout the year. We encourage students, parents, carers, schools, and colleges to regularly check our Work Experience page for the latest opportunities and updates.

We understand that some individuals may still wish to request a placement outside of these programmes. Whilst we will continue to consider individual requests where possible, our primary focus will be on developing and delivering the new cohort-based opportunities.

We look forward to sharing more information and welcoming the next generation of talent to Gloucestershire County Council.