Work and Industry Placements

Work Placements offer a fantastic opportunity to build employability skills for life after full-time education. Placements emulate real-world working conditions and are great for enhancing your CV and future prospects. There are two types of work placements and these are ‘Industry Placements (IPs)’ and ‘Work Experience (WEX)’.

 

INDUSTRY PLACEMENTS

  • IPs are a mandatory element of T-Level qualifications.
  • IPs consist of a minimum of 315 hours which is equivalent to 45 days over the duration of your course. Education and Childcare students must complete a minimum of 750 hours which is equivalent to 108 days over the duration of the course. You are able to complete more hours if you choose to do so.
  • IPs can be either unpaid voluntary positions or paid part-time employment if the industry sector is relevant to your course of study. (Please note that these hours will only count once the college Health and Safety checks and agreements have been conducted and confirmed).

 

WORK EXPERIENCE

  • WEX is similar to the above but instead has a minimum of 40 hours which is equivalent to 6 days.
  • WEX offers students a top level insight into the world of work.

 

The benefits of IP for learners include the following:

  • A great way to build and develop technical work-related skills.
  • A valuable source of personal development that helps improve communication, problem-solving and management skills – making you more aware of the behaviours expected at work and thus making you more employable.
  • A useful opportunity to gain a deeper knowledge of the running of a business and understand how it responds to change, as well as general commercial principles.
  • A useful way of building a valuable working relationship with an employer, resulting in a fuller and more meaningful employer reference to use for future employment.
  • A valuable addition to your CV to increase employability.
  • Better understanding of the nature of the work you are interested in pursuing.
  • Further development of course-based learning in a practical work environment.
  • Involvement in an industry placement should make a significant difference to employment prospects. It will do this by supporting you to gain valuable technical and ‘soft skills’ that will improve your employment prospects.

 

If you are on a course which takes advantage of industry placement opportunities, your course leader will provide further support and information.