By Jessica Doody, St Catherine's

Each year, more and more employers are realising the joys of taking on a work experience student. And yet there are still those out there who think it's all a load of nonsense, a waste of their time.

And why would you want to take on a grumpy, moaning, lazy teenager for a week or two? Truth is, we're really not that bad! Honest!

To us, work experience is an exciting opportunity to see what it is really like to be treated like an adult, to work alongside other adults and to be treated with respect and as an equal rather then feeling inferior to the other adults surrounding us in our daily school life.

It's also another stepping stone, taking us in the direction we would like our futures to lead us. Some of us might decide that a career path isn't one we would like to follow, others make up their minds and decide they really do enjoy that work and would like to make a career out of it.

Some of us might decide we're not quite ready for work and others otherwise, but no matter what we decide it's still really helpful in deciding what to do next.

"I've always wanted to be a teacher, and work experience has made that dream even stronger."

Now you might be sitting there thinking fair enough, seems like a good idea ... but why me, I'm not getting anything out of it, I'm sure there are many other employers out there!

Well, you're wrong. I'm sure there are enough companies out there for every Yr 10-11 student in the London borough, but what if half of them are thinking the same as you and the other half don't have a particular job a student might like to experience?

Now if you're still unsure about it here's something that's sure to win you over: every employer I've spoken to has agreed that they get just as much out of the placement as the student does.

"From my experience, taking on a student can be just as influential on me as them. They are incredibly helpful and all the students I have taken on have proven themselves to be very mature, polite young adults."

For instance they are a helping hand to share the workload, eager to learn more about your job and how everything works. Which brings us to point number two, how many people have you met that will actually want to listen to you talk about your job and what you spend your days doing?

You only ever hear about the very small minority of trouble-making teenagers in the news, but what about the rest of us? We never get a mention! Actually, most of us are hardworking, polite, responsible young adults wanting to do well and that is exactly the type of person you can expect to see at a work placement.

We have different opinions and very different points of view, making us very interesting people who you will enjoy working with. We also bring a whole new type of energy to the workplace as well as a load of fresh new ideas.

If you are already an employer offering work experience, congratulations, you should be proud. If not, there's no time like the present. I promise you'll have no regrets!