The phrase 'early career' refers to those who are at the start or early stages of their career. It also goes a step further and covers anyone in education who wants to grow their experience and insight.
You could have the chance of so many great careers with us, with lots of varied early career options. They include: apprenticeships, internships, work experience, T-Level industry placements and undergraduate/graduate programmes.
Work Experience Placements
Are you interested in gaining experience of what it is like to work in local government?
Our Work Experience Programme gives you the chance to:
- spend time with our teams;
- build your skills;
- and get a real insight into the work we do.
How it works
- Applications for our 2026 work experience placements will open on Monday 26th January for two weeks. We will not be able to accept late applications.
- You will be able to view a list of available placements and apply for your preferred choice.
- Placements will take place in during set weeks in June or July.
- Each placement gives you the chance to:
- shadow experienced professionals;
- learn about their role;
- learn about the council;
- and develop skills that will support your future.
Who can apply
- students in their last two years of school;
- in sixth form;
- those at college;
- and university students on a course relevant to the placement area.
You need to live in Calderdale or study at a school or college in the borough.
If you live in Calderdale, but study at university, you can still apply.
How to apply
When applications are open, you will be able to complete the online form. This will include:
- a full list of placements to select from;
- and dates, times and location.
More information
- Placements tend to be one week, unless otherwise stated.
- They are unpaid, but provide valuable experience and insight into council services.
Our programme is very popular and places are limited. We try to accommodate as many students as possible, but may not be able to offer placements to all applicants.
We are an inclusive employer and commit to make sure that placements can be accessed by everyone, which includes those:
- who are care-experienced;
- with additional support needs;
- and people who may face socio-economic challenges.
T-Level Industry Placements
If you are studying towards a T-Level and want a work placement, speak to your learning provider. They can link us and we will work with them to try and find a placement that matches your course.
We offer placements and links directly with the learning providers in Calderdale. This is a great chance for us to support the emerging education and training environment. Also, to promote these new and vital qualifications.
A compulsory part of the T-Level course is to take part in and complete an 'industry placement'. This must be for a minimum of 315 hours (about 45 days). These placements are a great way to help develop new talent and get young people work-ready.
Internships
This is a period of work experience offered to students and graduates to give them exposure to the working environment. Often this is within a specific industry, which relates to their qualification. They are for a fixed period of time between 4 weeks and 12 months.
Throughout these you will develop a variety of soft skills, such as:
- communication;
- interpersonal;
- presentation;
- creative problem solving;
- and influencing.
Experience is becoming a crucial factor for employers when deciding who gets their foot in the door. It is strongly advised that you take the chance to complete a period of work experience. This is make sure you have a competitive advantage when you apply for a job. This is where an internship can make all the difference.
We offer paid and unpaid internships to university students in a range of services.
If you have a query or want more details, please email: early.careers@calderdale.gov.uk.
To find out what we have, please see: