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Participation in Work Placements
Graduates who participated in work placements/internships (%). Brenda Little, 'Squaring the Circle?', ASET Conference Proceedings 2007.
In the UK 29% of students undertake a work placement. This compares with the European average of 55%, France at 72% and Germany at 80%. In the Dearing Report in 1997 the Government recommended that every student should be given the opportunity to undertake a placement. ASET seeks to promote the concept of placements to enhance the employability of students.
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Benefits to Students
- Working knowledge and experience. Valuable work experience in a relevant business area and the chance to develop a range of work related skills demanded by graduate employers which will dramatically enhance overall employability.
- The opportunity to put academic theory to practice and apply textbook learning.
- Creation of a network of industry contacts and subsequent job opportunities. In a recent survey of employers who take placement students, 69% of placement students were offered graduate jobs, 80% of employers recruited placement students with the primary aim of attracting them back to permanent jobs, and 40% of annual graduate intake from these employers consisted of former placement students (University of Manchester and UMIST, 2004).
- Financial rewards as most placements are paid and the associated financial implication of reducing overall student debt. By paying half, 20%, or even no fees, remaining council tax exempt and earning a proper wage, many students can pay off accumulated debt, save for their final year and reduce hardship.
- Careers ideas and direction. An insight into a particular career and future job opportunities as well as the chance to size up an employer and vice versa and therefore enable more informed career choices.
- Personal as well as professional development including self-confidence, self-discipline and responsibility. Experience of job application and adapting to workplace culture within a supported environment.
- Ideas for final year project.
Placements are aimed at providing students with the experience and discipline of working in a business environment and the opportunity to develop skills in particular areas. They will also gain insight into the wider commercial aspects of business life including the management of the organisation and the client-company relationship.
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Benefits to Employers
- Cost effective source of labour.
- Motivated, committed and loyal employee.
- Opportunity to assess student’s potential for future employment - the opportunity to give a potential recruit a trial without obligation.
- Flexibility in staff deployment and increased productivity.
- Increased awareness of current academic developments in the particular discipline.
- Breakthrough thinking (not blinkered or stereotyped).
- Generating goodwill within the academic community.
- Payback (putting something back into the system).
At a reasonable cost, employers can benefit from an enthusiastic staff member, fresh from two years undergraduate study, who can often be targeted at specific short to medium term projects. The student comes equipped with specific skills as well as an up-to-date overview of the industry’s developments and should become fully productive at an early stage.
Many employers are also keen to make (and to be seen to make) a positive contribution towards the provision of a high quality work force for the future. As a placement organisation, it is also easy to make known to the academic community views and requirements regarding higher education.
Whilst there is not normally a long-term commitment to future recruitment, there is obvious potential, particularly where placements are linked to sponsorship. Sponsorship arrangements vary greatly but can include financial support whilst studying, vacation employment and, possibly, an eventual employment arrangement. Potential employers should be aware that placement students must return for final year. It is not unusual for companies to gain favourable publicity as a result of sponsorship arrangements.
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Benefits to Academic Institutions
Primarily, placements help academic institutions provide graduates with the qualities that employers have informed that they require. The links with industry, which placements promote, also help us to keep abreast of changing requirements and can lead to other joint ventures such as custom-built training courses and collaborative research.
According to the very detailed financial figures provided by the finance departments at academic institutions, nearly every single course that undertakes them makes profit from placements. Despite some perceptions, placements are not loss making enterprises and, according to institutions’ figures, the way HEFCE allocates funds mean that they frequently make large profits for departments. The HEFCE funding bands are based on the costs of teaching individuals’ particular disciplines. In placement years half the normal payment for students in that band is made for each individual. This is given to departments as part of their lump sum but is not (unfortunately) tagged as a specific placement budget. As overhead costs are much less for students on placement, the more students on placements a department has, the more money they make.
Work placements also enhance academic performance with students obtaining significantly higher marks in their final year of study in comparison with students who have not undertaken a placement (Steven Gomez, David Lush and Margaret Clements, 2004).
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