History of ASET

ASET began life in 1982 with the idea of two former employees of Sheffield Hallam University to start a charity to bring together all parties involved in the conduct or promotion of sandwich education. Although many universities and polytechnics had their own internal committees within the institution, there was little opportunity for cross institutional engagements. This resulted in the establishment of the Association for Sandwich Education and Training, ASET.
In the early days, ASET was little more than a group of individuals with shared interests meeting occasionally to discuss their practice, but it soon gained a reputation as a valued network, and began to develop a programme of activities. Involvement in policy work such as the Dearing Review, and with the Universities’ Safety Officers Association, acknowledged the degree of expertise held in the organisation, all practitioners working on a daily basis with students, and employers.
The aims of the Association have changed very little in the last thirty years; we are still constituted to advance the prevalence, effectiveness and quality of this form of Higher Education. What has changed in those years is removal of the singular focus on sandwich education; we now use the term Work Based and Placement Learning to try to encompass the full plethora of activities in Higher Education, where students are integrating their education with work, and vice-versa. This is why we are now known simply as ASET.
Our reputation within Higher Education Institutions, the sector, Government and employers enables us to be known for our work, our superb support of practitioners, and our leading voice on all matters relating to work based and placement learning.