Year in industry/work placement years as part of degree

[busygirl8888]

I would appreciate thoughts on how important people feel a year in industry/placement year is as part of a degree to make the transition from study to work and to gain work experience often needed to find a first job/get a foot in the door etc? I struggled when finishing uni (admittedly many years ago!) and think I would really have benefited from this. With more students doing apprenticeships also reckon it's important uni students get that valuable work experience too as they might be at a bit of a disadvantage otherwise? Anecdotally I hear of some larger companies focusing on offering opportunities for apprenticeships at the expense of graduate trainee schemes and internships but these might be in the minority.

I think in the past work placement years may have been more common in STM subjects but more universities appear to be offering it now in a wider range of subjects and it's presented as a bit of a selling point along with possibility of year studying abroad.

My DD has applied to study Geography (at Durham, Bristol, Nottingham, Exeter and Southampton) and we've tried to find out at the open days how many students who want a placement are successful in getting one (the unis have made it clear it is down to the student to find them which is fair enough but I would hope they have some support and the department have a few links etc). If DD's Year 12 work experience is anything to go by, actually finding a placement can be really hard without a bit of help so she's been trying to find out how realistic her chances would be, as this might affect her final choice of uni.

Our impression is that the more prestigious unis (Durham, Bristol) appear to be less likely to have many students attending placements. When we've asked at the open day this has been glossed over slightly with an indication that they're 'very competitive' giving the overall impression that not many students do them (this admittedly was in the subject she's interested in - I guess it might vary by subject).

My question is how much should she let this affect her final choice? She's likely to get the grades she needs for Durham/Bristol and these are otherwise her top choices so does the benefit of going to a more 'prestigious' uni perhaps outweigh any disadvantage from missing out on a work placement/year in industry? I realise I am probably overthinking this but would welcome opinions please.

DS is currently in his last year after doing his placement, the university helped in providing lists of vacancies, interview and CV advice. Some of his peers were unsuccessful and reverted to a three year degree. so have graduated now. DS enjoyed his placement, it has helped with his CV, he saved as he continued living his student life. City universities or good rail links help in the number of placements opportunities. He has been kept on for his final year, so is now applying for graduate schemes with not only experience but that his employer valued him enough to retain.

In response to your final part of the question I would say yes the fact that she was attending Durham or Bristol would give her more of an advantage in a graduate market than a student who did a placement year at somewhere not as prestigious but wasn't offered a job at the end of the placement.

Take a look at some sites like HighFliers to see where they tend to recruit from. Does she know what type of career she even wants. To apply for a placement for y3 she needs to do so early in y2 so quite soon in. Often many students don't get placements or take something for the sake of having one when they really needn't.

I am sure there will be other posters that say they should have a placement. Personally I don't think they should especially if they have had part time jobs nor summer jobs anyway so have "work" experience even if not directly relating to the degree or career path.

Alongside placements she could also apply for summer internships many of which lead to job offers too.

As a former grad recruiter, I think they're highly valuable. Work is a very different environment than university and many young people struggle badly with the transition. It's also some reassurance to an employer that you can cope with working in a team, taking feedback, meeting goals and the bread and butter of employment.

It depends on what a given employer focuses on, really. Some will focus more on prestigious unis/academic quals and others will focus more on employment skills. It depends on subject too. But as an employer I'd take someone who's held down a job any day over someone who hadn't.

I am also wondering about this, and wondering if being away for year 2 or 3 affects things like having a group of housemates - hard to find people to live with on return?

DS says he learned more on his placement year than on the course. He did a TV Broadcasting degree at Portsmouth and spent his placement year in the edit suite at the university, despite having other offers.
It taught him valuable problem solving/people skills and he’s now a film editor.
I guess it depends on your final destination. A ‘good’ university will carry you a long way on reputation alone. If your career requires concrete skills, a placement year might be the proof an employer wants.

Four year degrees are quite common now, so friends bases not as much of a problem. DS went in a private but similar to university style accommodation with two friends in year three (placement) and has remained there for year four.

I did a placement year before I went through the Year in Industry scheme. I really recommend it and still feel the benefits 20 years later. It gives the student an extra year to grow up so they're likely to do better when they get to university. It also gives you a no strings attached way to try out a career. If you start a career as a graduate, it's much harder to say "actually no, this isn't for me" because your future looks much more mapped out. I now have experience in a completely different industry from my current colleagueswhich is really useful, even if it wasn't an industry I wanted to stay in.

The country I currently work in has mandatory placements in order to graduate from university. It's a really good system and makes the graduates much more employable (partly because there's less risk that they'll decide they don't like working after 6 months! )

Having said that, sandwich years can be tough if your friends aren't doing it and the British system doesn't put much weight on it. A gap year first would seem like a good compromise of she likes a university that doesn't offer sandwich years as standard.

Good you are investigating in advance.

My DS2 (STEM) was attracted to placement year courses but the reality was that very few students secured these. Some unis are better than others either in terms of links or help they provide to their students. He should ask at open days for stats.

My DS2 knew early on that he didn't want to work in his degree field so switched to non-placement year course. Instead he did one summer internship and worked term time/holidays. I suspect it was this that gave him the edge as he secured a good graduate scheme.

DD (non-STEM) is applying for placement years at the moment. Her uni (Edinburgh) doesn't advertise it but they allow you to interrupt your studies (remain registered as a student) to do a placement year. She is keen to keep to her degree area so has only had a choice of 3 schemes to apply for. Applications are multistage and time consuming. Perhaps the unis your DD is considering allow the same.

I think they're very valuable and worthwhile. DS intended to do it, but in the end, he just couldn't get a placement.

He thinks he chose the wrong Uni - they made all the right noises about links with industry/big employers, etc., and showed loads of big company logos on their placement webpage, but basically it was down to DS to sort it himself without any Uni help other than generic links to job/agency websites, one help session to write his cv and a workshop session about pyschometric testing and the online application processes.

He thought (naively) that there'd be better links with industry, as other University open days had mentioned formal links with big employers like PWC, Aviva, etc., where specific numbers of students were taken on each year from that Uni, and naively thought all Unis worked the same way.

He did loads of applications (dozens, probably 30 or 40), but the placements are hard to get, and he didn't get through the initial applications process, despite doing all the right things as the Uni advised him. He was pretty disappointed and just converted to the 3 year standard degree instead.

Two of his flat mates also had to move from the "placement" degree back to the 3 year degree as they couldn't secure a placement either.

Funnily enough, he's now going through the same process for "real" graduate jobs once he graduates next Summer and has got through the initial stages for quite a few, as there are far more vacancies for "proper" jobs than there are for placements.

At my son's Uni, they have a lot of Uni owned accommodation, so the "returning" students from a placement year have the option to go back into "halls" along with phd students etc, and can either go into a flat with random other older students or they can join with friends to go into the same flat with fewer other "random" people. My DS stayed in Uni flats for his year 2 with one of his previous flat mates (so they were together), and 2 of the other flatmates were returning students from placements who wanted to live together again.

The modern purpose built Uni accommodation in most Uni cities usually also have lots of different options, such as studio flats which are basically a larger en-suite bedroom with a kitchenette (so they don't need to share), or also Uni style communal living with clusters of ensuite bedrooms sharing just a kitchen/living room which are also ideal for individuals or 2/3 friends to share with others without having to go the whole way to share a proper house with shared bathrooms, etc.

My son is at Bristol (STEM) and completed a work placement last year. Not many of his peers did, either because they chose not to or were unsuccessful in finding one. It was really down to the students to find and apply for placements. His tutor was supporting once he was on placement as it is assessed as part of his degree. He's been pretty much guaranteed a job on completion of his degree, and it's been a great learning experience.

I hate this as it’s to do with wealth but if looking at placements having a driving license and the ability to get a car opened up many more placements for DS than his non driving peers.

In response to your final part of the question I would say yes the fact that she was attending Durham or Bristol would give her more of an advantage in a graduate market than a student who did a placement year at somewhere not as prestigious but wasn't offered a job at the end of the placement.

Previous role involved recruitment and I disagree with the above. I think that might be true of say a law degree or perhaps if you went to Oxbridge, but would I prefer a Geography student from Bristol or Durham (simply on account of having been to Bristol / Durham) over a student who has worked hard to secure a placement with a reputable company and can demonstrate acquired skills / application of knowledge? I think the answer is No.

Students who manage to find a good placement generally seem to think they've benefited from it.

However, your question is whether it's 'important' to do one. My dd did an engineering degree, one of the subjects where a year in industry is more of a reality - but the unis she looked at and ended up applying to ('top' ones in MN terms) didn't seem to particularly encourage them. What they certainly did encourage - in fact was a requirement for the course she did - was to do good relevant internships in some of the summer vacations. This allowed her to sample more than one type of company, and got her a job offer.

I think it probably depends on what your DD is thinking of doing after her degree @busygirl8888 if she has any idea.

FWIW my DD did a vocational degree and her year's placement showed her that actually she didn't want to go into exactly what her degree was leading to, so she changed tack slightly for her Masters, taking a more academic and research-oriented path. So her placement year was definitely useful, but possibly not in the way one would assume…

Thanks very much for all the really helpful responses: a lot to think about here. It's certainly true that many unis seem to make all the right noises about offering placements but the reality of finding one can be tough. My DD thinks she's interested in environmental consultancy, either that or possibly the town planning route so a placement would be a good opportunity to try out one of these areas. I'm hoping if she's not able to get a placement that she could get an internship at least - my concern is that with the recent focus on companies offering apprenticeships to school leavers there may be fewer internships/placements on offer to undergraduates making it even more competitive but I guess she'll just have to do her best.

My placement year was by far the most valuable part of my degree and set me on the path to my current career. It hugely boosted my confidence and general life skills too. I shared a house with other students who had been on a placement year when I got back to uni, so no problems there either. I have also recruited and supervised placement students many times as a manager and the growth in them over the year is amazing, they certainly have an advantage when applying for graduate positions too. But yes to it being harder to come by the placements nowadays.

Ds did a placement year last year (engineering degree). It was very last minute but the logistics worked out ok luckily. Because of Covid he was working from home a lot as that’s what most of their staff were doing, so I’m not sure how valuable it was in terms of learning.

However they have offered him a summer job next year & hopefully will offer a graduate job. From that point of view it’s invaluable- takes all the job hunting pressure off in final year.