“No, out of those who we have had on work experience programmes with AS3 Employment, none of them have been given a permanent position at Wolturnus” is HR consultant Søren Harboe Thomsen's reply to the question of how often work experience programmes lead to a job with them. “But two of them got jobs with other companies, while they were on work experience with us”. 

He recalls “One of them was not particularly positive when she turned up on the Monday morning to begin her work experience. But over the course of a few days she had let her guard down and became part of the community, and it was clear that she was motivated by her work, turned up in a better mood and began to thrive in general. She had something to get out of bed for and there was someone who relied on and expected something of her,” he narrates, continuing, “so when she was invited to a job interview at another company in the middle of her period of work experience, not only was she in “good shape”, but was also able to say that she was working with us and could use it as a reference. She got the job, so we believe that we have contributed to the fact that she has moved on in her life, which we feel good about”. 

In Wolturnus there is no automatic system for accepting the unemployed for work experience placements. It is partly a question of timing. There must be some real work for the intern to do, and there must also be a match between the task and the candidate's competences. When the candidate begins on work experience, there is a start-up plan, an induction programme and Søren Harboe Thomsen is himself assigned as mentor. “We want to be sure that it makes sense to both parties, and that it is a positive experience for all,” he concludes.