Work experience

We believe that offering work experience placements to young people is a great way to gain an insight into the important and interesting work that The National Archives does.

Work experience in Document Services

The Document Services department offers a placement scheme to young people aged 14 to 18.

A structured work placement is a chance to learn more about what it is like to work in an archive, and to get some practical, hands-on experience of working as part of a team. The work will include:

  • producing and returning original documents accurately from the repository floor to the reading rooms
  • using computer systems to log and track document movements accurately
  • working in a customer service environment within the reading rooms
  • learning how we preserve and care for documents
  • working as an effective member of a team

We are currently offering 5-day placements (Monday to Friday) within the Document Services department.

How to apply

If you are a student in the boroughs of Richmond upon Thames and Kingston upon Thames or Hounslow, please check with your work experience co-ordinator as some schools may have arrangements in place for contacting us.

We actively welcome applications from students with autism.

Update (October 2023)

Our work experience placements are now fully booked for 2024. We will be taking bookings for 2025 after the summer.

For general enquiries about work experience at The National Archives please email:DSDTraining@nationalarchives.gov.uk