Selecting Appropriate Work Experience

What is work experience for? The main goal may be to make students more employable, or it may be to teach students about the community in which they live. It may be to help students to become more responsible and socially mature, or, to establish links between school and community. Does the type of work experience fit that educational purpose? A student is not likely to develop responsibility in a job consisting of closely supervised routine tasks. Or, observing and assisting a highly skilled person may be appropriate for helping students make career choices, but may not contribute to increased employability.