That's what head of book and stationary store WH Smith Richard Handover says.
He reckons it's not good enough to dump dull jobs on schoolchildren like throwing out rubbish or shredding paper.
That misses the point of going into work in the first place, whether it's in the final year of GCSEs or even earlier.
It means you'll just get bored and get nothing out of the time you spend there.
Mr Handover says what's really important is to let kids get a feel for what work is really like.
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Children at work: know your rights
Are you safe at work?
