The Work Placement Year
All our BSc programmes offer you the opportunity to take a year's work placement in industry during the third year of the course. Placements are real, paid jobs in a wide variety of organisations in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors and offer you a valuable opportunity to experience firsthand how business and management concepts are applied in practice and to give you direct exposure to real issues in the workplace.
Why do a placement?
The placement year is a vital part of your learning and will add significantly to your personal development, self confidence, planning, communication and business acumen skills. Statistics show that students who have undertaken a placement year benefit from a better graduate job, higher graduate starting salary and a better degree outcome.
From our 2010 graduates :
• 100% of students following a 4 year programme including the placement year were in employment or postgraduate study 3 months after graduation
• 83% of these same students secured a First or 2:1 classification compared to only 41% who followed the 3 year programme
In a competitive graduate market, valuable experience and employability skills gained from a year’s work placement will differentiate you from the thousands of other graduates seeking work. We find that students return from their placement year with their confidence and personal skills enhanced and ready to implement their focused plan for the future.
New from 2011, all students on placement will complete a 20 credit work based learning module which constitutes employer appraisals, a portfolio of learning and a presentation. These credits will count classification towards your degree and you will only need to complete 10 modules in your final year.
How do I get a placement?
The School has an excellent network of organisations that offer placements including IBM, Vauxhall, NHS, GE Money, Pace, Enterprise Rent A Car, Cummins and Peugeot. Together we ensure your placement is appropriately challenging and that you can make a real and positive impact on the business.
Competition for placments has increased dramatically in recent years and you must accept responsibility for securing your own placement by ensuring you are well prepared and take full advanatage of all the support that is available. In the unlikely event that you do not secure a placement, you would continue straight onto your final year.
What help is available?
The School has a dedicated Work Based Learning Coordinator, Debbie Adams, supported by the Careers & Placement Administrator, Luke Oldridge. The placement team provides support via dedicated workshops in years one and two, individual careers advice and guidance appointments, access to resources, help with application forms, interviews and CV's. This support is available all year round and the pre placement workshops are timetabled into your programme. In year two you will also complete a core module – Employability & Enterprise, which will further support your placement applications.
We are located in the Career Development Services in the Yvette Jacobson Building 1.09 (oppositie the Cartwright Building).
Debbie Adams email: d.adams1@brad.ac.uk tel: 01274 23 4316
Luke Oldridge email: l.oldridge1@brad.ac.uk tel: 01274 23 4376
Workshops
The workshops are an essential and integral part of your preparation for a placement year. In your first year they are held in the second semester and in the first semester of your second year. Topics covered include; How to get a placement, CV and Application Forms, Interview Skills, previous placement student presentations and employer presentations. As well as the specific placement workshops, you can also attend the Career Development workshops at either SOM campus or City Campus.
Career Guidance Appointments
One to one appointments are available at any time during the year to discuss your ideas for a placement, get help with your CV and application forms, to practice interview techniques or to answer any related questions.
Please email careers.mgt@bradford.ac.uk for an appointment.
Further information / Resources
All information regarding work placements including resources, job opportunities, workshop schedules, contacts and case studies can be found on Blackboard in the organisation called "Undergraduate Work Placement Year" (MAN-PLACEMENT) and in the organisation called "School of Management Career Development Service" (MAN-CAREERS)