High quality work experience increases employability chances

It is even more important for students to gain a high quality work placement, to increase their chances of gaining a graduate career in today’s economic climate.

It is no longer sufficient to have a good degree classification alone. Employers are increasingly looking for students who can demonstrate employability competencies such as business acumin, professionalism and communication skills.

Companies are increasingly using their intern/placement programmes as a pipeline for talent into their graduate programmes. This is particularly true into today’s economic environment where many organisations are cutting their graduate recruitment budgets to decrease costs.

Students still need to ensure that they are not exploited and receive a high quality placement. In addition to developing employability skills, work placements should help to clarify career aspirations and offer the opportunity to put theory into practice.

Your first point of contact to help you find a placement should be your university placement officer or careers adviser. They should have relationships with a number of employers who take on students and therefore should be able to find you the most suitable placement. Alternatively you can search and apply for your own placement through websites such as www.prospects.ac.uk where you can also access careers, CV and interview advice.

A high quality placement should provide you with objectives, support, learning, development and assessment. Placement providers should also be able to demonstrate senior commitment and strategies for the intern programme. Companies that have been awarded the NCWE Quality Mark have demonstrated that they met a national standard of work experience provision. Students carrying out placements at these organisations can be confident that they will receive a structured and worthwhile placement.

21 January 2009