Insight: Guiding Students Through the Transition into Placement

The majority of placement students have high quality, positive work based learning experiences.  However, problems can and do occur. How can we mitigate against the situation where a student is struggling to integrate into the workplace environment.  There may be many reasons why a student is struggling to engage effectively with the placement environment:  Limited communication with colleagues, difficulty establishing professional relationships, and a lack of understanding of workplace expectations are obvious symptoms affecting their ability to successfully engage with the placement experience.

This Insight session will address some of the underlying causes, ensuring that we reduce any risk that workplace cultures create barriers to the student’s success.  Through specific pre-placement action we could reduce the potential for any student to feel isolated, their risk of being exploited and we could positively confirm what will happen when circumstances in the workplace don’t feel comfortable or safe.  We will aim to provide specific tactics to avoid being in the situation where a student feels vulnerable and ultimately is reported absent from the placement.