Want to find out what a real job is like?
These opportunities will let you step into the workplace, meet friendly professionals, and see what different careers are really all about. It’s a great way to build confidence, explore your interests, and get inspired about your future.
Spaces are limited, so don’t miss out.
Shadowing days
Fire and Rescue Service: Vehicle maintenance
Go behind the scenes and see how skilled engineers keep emergency vehicles ready to respond. Shadowing Vehicle maintenance engineers in the workshop
Property & Assets: County Hall
Find out what it takes to keep a busy workplace running, from preparing rooms to supporting day-to-day operations. Shadowing and supporting facilities team - incoming post, room preparation.
Customer services: County Hall
Get a feel for a fast-paced front desk and see how staff help residents every day. Shadowing and supporting customer service centre including reception at county hall
Children’s & Adult Services – Social Work Practice Learning
Discover how social work apprentices learn important skills to support Adults and children, young people, and families. Shadow a practice learning session with current social work apprentices, meet the apprentice cohort, hear about the opportunities available, and gain an insight into what a typical day looks like for a social work apprentice.
4+ weeks
Innovation Centre
At Innovate Oxfordshire, you'll get the chance to see how new ideas and technology can make a real difference in local government and public services. This placement will help you understand how teams work together to solve real problems, improve services, and support local communities. You’ll take part in practical activities, learn about digital innovation and data, and see how the council works with universities, businesses, and other organisations to create better outcomes for residents.
Location: County Hall
Business Improvement Team
Join the Business Improvement Team and get a behind-the-scenes look at how the council makes services better for the people of Oxfordshire. During this placement, you’ll help with real improvement projects by gathering information, supporting workshops, taking notes, mapping how processes work, creating simple documents or presentation slides, and researching how other councils do things. You’ll build confidence, learn how teams solve problems and make changes, and develop useful workplace skills such as organisation, communication, teamwork and taking responsibility for your own tasks.
Location: County Hall
Customer Service Centre
Get a real taste of working in a busy customer service team, where you’ll see how staff help residents, businesses and visitors across Oxfordshire by phone, email and face to face. You’ll build confidence, learn how to communicate with different people, and develop useful skills in organisation, problem-solving, time management and customer service that can help you in any future career.
Location: County Hall
Community Support Service
In this role, you would help support adults to live full and meaningful lives by focusing on what matters most to them. You’d see how staff work with people and their carers, helping them stay active, build confidence, make friendships, and feel part of their community through activities such as wellbeing groups, local events, volunteering, cooking, and arts and crafts. This placement would give you an insight into how support services help people stay independent and live at home for longer.
Location: Day centres in Abingdon, Bicester, Headington and Witney