Industrial placements

[BlueskyBluesea]

How are your DC getting on with arranging these? It seems like every placement is so competitive and really it is very lucky if a student is able to organise a placement that is relevant to their degree. Or do you have a son or daughter that found and completed a placement ....any advice gratefully appreciated ☺️

Following, DS only in 1st year but will be looking for 3rd year.

Ds applied last year, he managed to get 1 in a top 6 accounting firm, however after that he managed to get a big 4 summer internship which then led to a graduate job offer so he then turned down the industrial placement.
It was a really gruelling processs tbh, and even getting one position was really hard.
There are so many steps involved with online interviews and tests then assessment centre etc.
I would advise your ds to apply for as many positions as he possibly can then hopefully he will get at least one offer out of all the multiple applications.

Thank you for your insight, yes will encourage doing plenty of applications just to hedge bets a bit

DD did one last year but with hindsight wished she hadn't bothered. Hardly anyone got a job offer. Also felt that the summer internship she did immediately prior to placement was more useful.

No advice but you do have to be persistent. My DS made about 40 applications, had 3 in person interviews, after multiple step application processes, and one offer. This seemed to be pretty normal. It's very time consuming. However everyone does seem to think it's worth it for experience to put on a CV. DS also quite enjoyed his and now has lots more money.

Thank you, I will definitely nudge my DC regarding increasing the number of applications done because I don't think they understand exactly how many many rejections there will be.
The idea of having a boost to finance before the final year is a real motivator tho.

@PearlStork Did your DD regret doing a placement year? Do you mind me asking who she did her placement year and summer internship with? Please PM me if you would like to keep it private. We are trying to get our heads around all of this stuff! 🙏

@GrumpyMuleFan placement was UK civil service social research and summer internship was Scottish government.

The placement was tainted by the department she was in and the timing relative to the change in government. I suspect a placement this year would be better. IMO it was misrepresented that doing the placement increased your chance of a graduate job.

Before any wades in with a bit of Scotland Government bashing which is popular on MN, this wasn't a political thing it was about interesting work, workload (she didn't have enough to do) and pace of work (too slow for my DD), prospects etc.

Do the DC have to pay tuition during their placement year?

Yes I think so although it is reduced , not exactly sure how much it is. Although my DC is currently on a masters programme so will be using some of the work done on year in industry towards masters project. If a relevant placement can't be found to fit into masters then I think they will drop to bachelor's but as far as I'm aware some tuition fees are still due even doing this

In my DD case no (she intermitted to do her placement plus Scottish at a Scottish uni). However others paid fees (usually reduced fees). I think placement year counted for their degree class in a minor way for some (a bit like year abroad).

My DD2 is on placement currently and started applying in October last year. She had to go through an extensive process of recruitment to get it. It is hard work but worth it when they get a decent one.
She's doing a Business Mgmt degree and is working for a well known brand in HR.

@PearlStork thank you do much - that is super helpful to know. really glad things worked out well for her. No Scotland bashing here 😉

My DS is researching Accountancy / Finance courses with a view to accountancy, back office, insurance or sales career. He’s not hugely academic and I think a good placement could really help boost his cv and finances.

I have become slightly obsessively trying to understand how the applications and courses work. One thing that strikes me is how many courses offer placements - are there enough placement jobs to go round? What happens if you can only get something that isn’t a great fit for your degree? Do you get pigeon-holed by the level/quality of placement you get? My DN had an excellent placement and secured a graduate role - the whole cohort have been recruited via internships.

Me again. Do you think relevant work experience makes a big difference with placement recruitment?

@GrumpyMuleFan One of DS's friends is doing a degree apprenticeship in finance here if he's not fixed on university.
jet2careers.com/emerging-talent-careers/apprenticeships/finance-procurement-apprenticeships/

20% if they remain “on roll” at the university, in which case a member of staff should have contact with them during the year a few times and they may need to do a report on the placement etc

Nothing if they pause their studies and take a year out.

It may be that not all universities will allow both these options,

DD wants to do MENG with a year placement. That’s five years. I wonder if that will exceed the undergraduate student loan?

Two of my DS2s friends did penultimate year summer internships and got jobs offers. Neither had previous finance type work experience (both did hospitality jobs part time since school). Had relevant degrees though (accountancy/financial maths).

My DD got a placement and didn't have relevant work experience. She was in her 2nd year of uni when applying for the placements so would have been hard for her to have relevant experience i think.
She did use examples from her various summer jobs that she'd done though- in the interviews.

@EwwSprouts thank you - that is so interesting. DS is keen on the idea of university, but I keep thinking that there some amazing routes available these days. I hope your DS friend enjoys Jet2 - they are a really interesting company and the procurement sounds good too. 🙏

@PearlStork That is good to know as my DS has hospitality experience but nothing else at the moment. I think it does show that you are used to work and dealing with the public is good training too 😀

@Pinkruler Thank you - it's all very reassuring to hear about actual experiences.

DD2 has hospitality work experience (holiday job at a wedding venue and all through 6th form) and did two months working for my DS's HR consultancy which she was able to reflect on and evidence in her interviews. This definitely must have helped her to get her placement.

@Sibilantseamstress I don’t think a MEng with another year out is worth it. If you look at it as a 5.th year, why bother when the vast majority of MEng grads get a job after 4 years and are making a start in being qualified? They will earn more money more quickly. He needs to aim for CEng. The year out is not much help as jobs aren’t that difficult to get. So I suggest 4 year MEng at the best engineering dept he can get into. Get placements/work in the vacations.

My DD2 is also doing a Business Management degree - 2nd year now and applying for a year in industry for next year. She’s applying to a LOT of companies/schemes and going through the stages is definitely time consuming. Is your daughter enjoying her placement? If she’s any advice my DD would be incredibly appreciative!
@Sibilantseamstress at DDs English university they charge 20% of the usual fees for the year in placement. They have to do some academic work during the placement, so there’s marking and I’m guessing they’ll check the placement itself (maybe) and be available if there’s major issues.

@OrangeBlossom28 ahhh yes, working at her brother’s HR consultancy would have been a biggie.