Placement Year, Sandwich Courses and Year Abroad

1. Placement Year, Sandwich Courses and Year Abroad James Seymour Aston University, Birmingham j.r.seymour@aston.ac.uk

2. Placement Year and Sandwich Courses Why take a placement year? Excellent experience, foot in the door after graduation 30%+ offered graduate roles after final year and/or final selection stage for graduate schemes Add context to academic study – look back and forward Final year performance (eg degree class) consistently better Make your mistakes early! Business/industry practice and 9-5 exposure Placements abroad increasingly available, and not just for languages students NOT a trade off between “Academic” versus “Vocational” Wide range of degree subjects offer the option More relevant and better context than a “Gap Year” Thick or Thin Sandwich?

3. The word is out….High Fliers Survey 2011

4. Key Findings - High Fliers Research 2011 “Nearly two-thirds of recruiters warn that graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer for their organisations’ graduate programmes”. “a third of this year’s entry-level positions are expected to be filled by graduates who have already worked for their organisations – either through industrial placements, vacation work or sponsorships – and therefore are not open to other students from the ‘Class of 2011’”. www.highflyers.co.uk

5. Aston’s own Research on Placements

6. Key findings of Aston’s Research Work experience (placement) improves your degree result The ‘best’ students take up work experience (placement) Those with lower academic achievement benefit most from work experience (placement) Work experience (placement) improves a student’s transferable skills and time management, confidence and a sense of responsibility Work experience (placement) improves career direction, employability and pay levels dramatically

7. “Graduate Level” Jobs: 2007-2009 Graduates 1. Imperial College, London 93% 2. London School of Economics (LSE) 89% 3. Robert Gordon (Aberdeen)* 86% 4. Cambridge 86% 5. Bath* 86% 6. Kings College London 85% 7= City (London)* 85% University College London (UCL) 85% 9. Oxford 83% 10.Aston* 82% 11.Bristol 81% UK average less than 70%. Aston above 14 of the 20 Russell Group Universities Source: HESA, Sunday Times University Guide – September 2008-2010, rounded figures, 3 year average * Universities with significant numbers of students on sandwich courses

8. Placement Year and Sandwich Courses Where can students work? Throughout the UK and worldwide Study exchanges with international partner Universities Majority are paid placements but volunteering is feasible too Aston University Placement Office advertises more than 3,500 jobs annually Links with over 1200 organisations 15+ Placement Office Team Help to find a Placement: Resources rooms and skills sessions Company presentations and workshops Daily opening hours and one-to-one support Practise interviews Students visited on placement Use of Web 2.0 technology

9. Examples of Placement Providers (over 1,200)

10. Examples – Languages and Social Sciences

11. Placement Year at Aston University An integral part of Aston’s degree programmes More than 40 years of experience c1,000 students currently on placement year or year abroad out of an intake of c1,700 Placement Essay – 5,000 words, typical 10% of degree class Reflective Journal and Information File – for next year’s students May count towards professional accreditation (eg IBMS, Engineering, Psychology, Marketing etc) Accommodation passed down/provided by employer Some students return home! Earn a wage Typical salary: approximately £15,000, Some students earn £25-35K Tax efficient (crosses two tax years)

12. What Do Placement Providers Say? At PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) we historically recruit a number of students from Aston University onto our business placement scheme. These students come from a wide variety of degree backgrounds at Aston, and demonstrate key skills and competencies that PwC look for. We are always impressed with the calibre of Aston students who demonstrate professionalism and a strong work ethic throughout their placement. We often have no hesitation in offering these students full time positions upon graduation and can only encourage more keen Aston students to apply! Imogen O’Mahoney, PWC

13. Year Abroad Options What can students do? Work placement Study exchange with an international partner University A combination of both Teaching in school/college via The British Council or other organisation Opportunities overseas Last year - placed over 200 students overseas - in over 30 different countries - advertised over 600 opportunities abroad Support for students on overseas placements Each student is met on a one to one basis to discuss most suitable and preferred options Most students are visited during their placement overseas Placement office provides full support before and during the placement

14. Aston Business School - Partner Business Schools DENMARK Copenhagen Business School ITALY Bocconi University POLAND Kozminski University GERMANY Universität Mannheim Universität Trier WHU Otto Beisheim School of Management CANADA HEC Montréal Brock University THE NETHERLANDS RSM Erasmus University NORWAY Bi Norwegian School Management AUSTRIA Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien SWEDEN Stockholm University KOREA Korea University Business School USA University of Florida Bellarmine University Iowa State University Marist College FRANCE ESC Bordeaux ESC Grenoble ESC Toulouse ESC Rouen ESCP EAP Paris EDHEC Lille AUDENCIA Nantes HONG KONG Chinese University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Polytechnic University SPAIN Universidad de Sevilla ESC Toulouse/Barcelona Universidad de Deusto ESCP-EAP Madrid Universidad Complutense de Madrid Universidad de Carlos III de Madrid MEXICO ITESM, Monterrey AUSTRALIA University of South Australia Queensland University of Technology BRAZIL University of São Paulo

15. Placements in LSS – Languages and Social Sciences The Year Abroad (YA) placement is compulsory for all language students (French, German, Spanish). The Placement Year is strongly recommended but optional for Social Sciences students (Sociology, Politics, International Relations, Public Policy, English Language). Going on placement proves to be a great experience for all students and is a valuable asset to their graduate CV.

16. Sectors – Languages and Social Sciences Civil Service/ Government Charities/ NGOs Human Resources Journalism Retail Marketing, Public Relations Law Hospitality Social Work Media IT Teaching English at school or in the workplace Finance Translation

17. Sectors – Engineering, Psychology and Sciences Civil Service/ Government Charities/ NGOs Human Resources (Psychology) Marketing and Market Research, Public Relations Media IT Engineering and Design NHS Biology and Psychology Research Drug Companies Motor Racing and Motor Manufacturing Aerospace and Defence Logistics, Transport Management Construction Management and Planning

18. Major University Providers % of students enrolled on Sandwich courses, HESA Data 2010 Harper Adams University College 86.6 Aston University, Birmingham 59.6 The University of Surrey 58.7 The University of Ulster 57.5 The University of Bath 53.0 Bournemouth University 50.1 Loughborough University 35.6 Brunel University 28.7 The University of Huddersfield 26.6 The Nottingham Trent University 25.9 Staffordshire University 25.1 Sheffield Hallam University 22.7

19. Placement Year – Fees and Finance Placement Year Fee and support/scholarships will vary from Universities across the UK – may present a confusing picture for prospective students and advisers Officially allowed to charge up to £4,500 (half the £9,000 fee) for 2012 Some HEIs have already announced plans (as has Aston) for fee levels etc Students do qualify for vast majority of living costs loan and all of the fee loan for that year Encourage your students to check on fee levels

20. Placement Year – “Special List” of unpaid placements Some unpaid placement years expected to still qualify for govt maintenance grants and full loans as for a normal full time student including Service in a Hospital or Public Health Authority in the UK, Primary Care Trust etc Prison or Probation Service, or aftercare service Research in a University or Research Institute

21. Placement Year – 2012 entry and beyond at Aston Placement Year Fee of £1,000 (£9,000 for other years) Placement Year students can apply for UK fee and maintenance loans as for other years – eligible for living costs loans of £3-4,000 per year. Placement Year fee waiver of £1,000 (Scholarships) for students with family incomes of £18,000 or less, and for all students on unpaid placement year or year abroad Universities still awaiting guidance from the Government on funding arrangements for placement years and year abroad programmes including ERASMUS EU support The benefits will continue to far outweigh the costs

22. Placement Year – advising your students Normally listed as 4yr SW in UCAS course search Optional or compulsory, normally optional but encouraged – students can choose during year 2, even right at the end! “Internships” versus placement year/sandwich course… Beware low levels of support and lack of “culture” of placements/internships/summer placements Check on typical salaries and support, how many actually go on placement?

23. Bibliography Driffield, N.L., Foster, C.S., and Higson, H.E. (2011), ‘Placements and degree performance: Do placements lead to better marks, or do better students choose placements?’ (under review). Gomez, S., Lush, D. and Clements, M. (2004) Work placements enhance academic performance of bioscience undergraduates, Journal of Vocational Education and Training, Vol.56 (3), pp.373-385. Green, J. P. (2011) The impact of a work placement or internship year on student final year performance: An empirical study, International Journal of Management Education, Vol.9 (2), pp.49-57. Mendez, R. and Rona, A. (2010), ‘The Relationship between Industrial Placements and Final Degree Results: a study of engineering placement students’, Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Issue 4-2, pp.46-61. Reddy, P. and Moores, E. (2006), ‘Measuring the benefits of a psychology placement year’, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol.31 (5), pp.551-567

24. Thanks for listening Any questions or comments? J.r.seymour@aston.ac.uk www1.aston.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/placements/ Placement student in action?!