EXAMS may be coming to an end, but that doesn't mean students will stop being tested.

They may only be half way through their sixth form studies but, for hundreds of students across the county, it's time to find out what they want to do in the future.

It's the traditional time for work experience placements for Year 12 students, who will discover more about future careers during a week in the workplace.

It's also a time of self-discovery.

How else will they find out that they're not cut out for office work than by giving it a go?

These days, work experience isn't about being allocated a job for the week based on the employers available.

It's more about finding something you're interested in and making the employers work for you.

What better examples of using their initiative than the students at King's School, Worcester?

There are 105 students, aged 16 and 17, going on their annual work experience next week.

Of these, only half will be staying in the county - the others are really spreading their wings.

Seven are off to France, while two are jetting off to the US. It's a far cry from the days when I did work experience in Evesham and Stratford-upon-Avon.

But if it only teaches these students one thing, it's to be ambitious.

King's pupils Hannah Lamb and Lee Rennie are lucky in that they've found placements in an exotic environment and doing something they hope will prove they are making the right choices.

Hannah is going to Misys Healthcare in North Carolina while Lee will be working at Domain Home Fashions in Boston.

Family contacts

Yes, they've used family contacts to make it work for them, but that's the name of the game.

It's the same in the world of work - it's not what you know, but who you know.

But what about those who have no contact in the field they wish to pursue? Well, that's where persistency comes into its own.

While finding out more about King's work experience programme last week, I discovered it's not just about one week in the students' life.

The groundwork for this starts in September at the start of Year 12, eventually matching students with companies which already accept them, as well as finding new ones to suit pupils' needs.

If the students don't like their work experience, then that is as positive an effect as if they feel it's the direction they want to take.

Why waste three years of your life on a degree course only to find out that the job it is best suited to, i.e. law, or teaching or whatever, is not the right one for you?

One week might not seem like a long time, but it can be long enough to know whether something feels right or not.

That said, how can students go on this voyage of self-discovery if there are not enough ships setting sail?

Firms willing to take on work experience students are in short supply, so anyone ready to open their doors for one week is greatly appreciated.

I'm sure the schools and colleges, who organise work experience as part of the curriculum, would agree to an appeal for more co-operative companies.