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How Small Businesses Can Actually Give Young People a Chance

This piece follows on from “Why the Future of Work Depends on Small Businesses Giving Young People a Chance”, which explored why early, real-world exposure to work matters more than polished career advice or corporate programmes.

The question now is practical:

What can a small business realistically do — without a dedicated HR team, budget, or formal scheme — to make that opportunity real?

This isn’t about solving youth unemployment. It’s about designing small, workable entry points into work that fit the reality of small businesses.


Start With Exposure, Not Employment

Most young people don’t lack motivation.They lack visibility.

They don’t know:

  • what a normal workday looks like

  • how decisions are made

  • what “good work” actually means in practice

Small businesses are uniquely placed to offer this — because work is visible, not hidden behind layers.


1. Shadow Days: Low Effort, High Signal

What it is: Invite a young person to observe a normal working day.

No tasks. No performance pressure. Just exposure.

Why it works

  • No onboarding

  • No payroll

  • No long-term commitment

It gives young people something most never get: context.

Keep it real: Don’t curate the day. Let them see interruptions, trade-offs, and routine work — not just highlights.


2. Micro-Internships (2–5 Days)

What it is: Short placements with a clear start and end, focused on real tasks.

Examples

  • organising inventory or files

  • basic research or comparisons

  • assisting with customer intake

  • supporting a live project for a few days

Why it works

  • Short timeframes reduce risk for the business

  • Real tasks build confidence and understanding

  • No one is pretending this is a career

It’s work — small, bounded, and meaningful.


3. Workplace Walkthroughs (One Hour Is Enough)

What it is: A simple walkthrough of the business: what roles exist, how decisions are made, where money comes in and goes out.

Why it matters: Many young people have never seen how a business actually functions end to end.

This turns “jobs” into systems they can understand.


4. Teach One Transferable Skill

You don’t need a training programme.

Pick one thing your business already relies on:

  • basic spreadsheet use

  • customer communication

  • scheduling

  • simple bookkeeping logic

  • using a specific tool or platform

Explain why it matters, not just how it works.

That’s often more valuable than the skill itself.


5. Paid Intro Roles Beat Unpaid Promises

Where possible, favour short, paid roles over unpaid placements.

They:

  • widen access

  • signal seriousness

  • create accountability on both sides

Even limited hours or short durations make a difference.

This isn’t charity — it’s fair exchange.


6. The Quiet Workforce: Let Young People See It

If your business relies on cleaners, delivery drivers, contractors, or part-time staff, include them in the picture.

Explain:

  • how their work fits

  • why reliability matters

  • what happens when something slips

This helps young people understand work as interdependence, not just individual effort.


7. Build Reflection In — Not Assessment

You don’t need reports or scores.

At the end, ask:

  • What surprised you?

  • What felt harder than expected?

  • What did you notice about how decisions get made?

This turns experience into learning — without formal evaluation.


8. Keep the Commitment Small and Repeatable

The biggest mistake small businesses make is overcommitting.

Better to:

  • offer one shadow day a month

  • host a short placement once a quarter

  • say yes occasionally, not always

Consistency beats scale.


What This Actually Changes

For young people:

  • work becomes legible

  • confidence grows

  • expectations adjust to reality

For small businesses:

  • hiring becomes less risky

  • onboarding improves

  • local talent pipelines form naturally

None of this requires grand programmes.

It requires designed exposure.


From Insight to Action

If you’re a small business owner thinking, “We could do something — but we don’t know where to start”, this is exactly the gap the Good Business Starter Toolkit was designed to help with.

It’s a practical guide for turning values into small, workable actions — including how businesses can engage with their communities in ways that fit real-world constraints.

You can explore the Good Business Toolkit to find simple ways to start, adapt, and build from there.

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