Internship Placement Year in Industry
Want to get out there and experience your career? An industry placement year is a fantastic way to experience the workplace, apply your learning and build connections for your future.
You can choose to do a placement year with the majority of Chester Business School undergraduate courses between your second and third year. You’ll have full support in finding a placement and throughout your time in industry. Some of the benefits include:
- The opportunity to develop practical and transferable skills in a real working environment
- Improved job opportunities once you have graduated, with the potential for a firm job offer before returning to your final year
- Real experience in your chosen career
- The opportunity to earn a salary
- Practical skills and knowledge that will help you in your final year of study
- The opportunity to go on and achieve higher grades and a better class of degree
- The opportunity to build and develop networks within your chosen industry
Student Stories
"My year's placement has been an invaluable experience to improve my skills and vastly broaden my knowledge across a range of areas. It has been dynamic, fast-paced, challenging and it has opened my eyes to the wide range of job opportunities available." Watch their story
"To anyone who is considering year in industry …do it! The experience you will gain from this opportunity is invaluable and will provide you with a great starting point for your career! I have expanded my financial knowledge base and learnt from those within the team whose positions I aspire to. I haveprovided essential support within the team and have been fortunate to be offered a graduate role as a Financial Analyst."
"Working within the Sales Team of Nintendo UK has been a fascinating and wonderful experience to understand the roles and responsibilities of working for an international leader in video games and being responsible for the pre-order process regularly has been brilliant. This placement provided an excellent chance to see the practical side of university theory and assignments, offering an insight into how different aspects of business departments operate." Watch their story
"I have been fortunate to receive a permanent job offer from my placement provider. I will continue working part-time whilst finishing my final year of university and then progress to Deputy Finance Business Partner within the NHS, whilst continuing studies to gain a chartered accounting qualification."
"My journey with EMS Group has been such a great experience. It was great to put my academic work into practise, build relationships and expand my knowledge further. On the back of this I’ve got a full time role - I am now a Project Senior Executive with EMS Healthcare and manage the capacity of the NHS." Watch their story
"The highlight of my year was receiving a 'Walking Through Walls' award which I received in recognition of taking on lots of extra work to help the Accounts Payable team. I have been fortunate enough to be offered a job at Masonite when I graduate with a full study package included."
Frequently Asked Questions
- Airbus
- Always Aim High Events
- Bentley Motors
- BMW
- Cheshire West and Chester Council
- Computacenter
- Eaton UK
- FIFA
- Enterprise Rent-a-car
- Essex County Council
- Harold Smith Chartered Accountants
- Hays Recruitment
- Husco International
- IoD North West
- Innospec
- Inspiring Travel Company
- Lumesse Ltd
- Marie Curie Cancer Care
- Marks & Spencer
- Microsoft
- Mottram Hall Hotel
- Muras Baker Jones Ltd
- NHS
- Nine Yards Ltd
- Park Retail Ltd
- PokerStars
- Porsche
- Quinteassential Teas
- Rolls Royce
- Scwirrel MAS
- Smaller Earth
- Tactical Solutions
- The Body Shop International (L’Oreal Group)
- The Civic, Barnsley
- The Mill Hotel and Spa
- Vauxhall Motors
- Welocalize
The University have and continue to build relationships with local and national organisations and we have a number of employers who advertise their vacancies through our CareerHub pages. You should register for CareerHub by using your existing student ID and password.
You can also find placement opportunities by using the variety of Placement Vacancy sites available including: Prospects; Rate My Placement; Fledglings; The Big Choice, by utilising contacts you may already have and by identifying and contacting directly organisations you would be interested in undertaking your placement with.
We will support and equip students with the skills and knowledge to source their own placement in a competitive environment. The Sandwich Placement Team have and continue to build relationships with local and national organisations and when notified about upcoming vacancies we will advertise them on our placement vacancy portal.
We run support sessions in the second year of your degree which will help you prepare for finding a placement and the placement itself. These sessions include input from employers, previous sandwich placement students, academic tutors, the sandwich placement team and the Careers and Employability team and will cover a wide range of topics including: CV and Cover Letter guidance; utilising Social Media; Networking; Psychometric Testing guidance and guidance on interviews and assessment centres.
You can start your placement anytime between mid/end of June (usually following Work Based Learning) and mid-September. This is to ensure that you can complete your 12 months before returning to your final year at University. During your Sandwich Placement year you will be expected to complete a period of 48 weeks (excluding holidays other than Bank Holidays). Your placement year must end before the start of your first term in your final year of study. The placement should be a full-time placement (minimum of 30 hours per week).
As you will remain a student during your year placement you will still pay fees and enroll as a student for that year. Students undertaking a 12 month placement as an integral part of their degree are entitled to apply for a student loan for this period. You should contact your national Student Finance provider (www.gov.uk/student-finance ) to confirm the amount you are eligible to receive, the deadlines for applying and the information the Student Finance provider will require.
Sandwich Placements can attract varied salaries upwards of £16,000 per annum, depending on the placement provider and the job role. You may well wish to consider undertaking a placement with a not for profit organisation / charity, but please be aware that many of these opportunities will be unpaid and so you should seriously consider the impact of undertaking an unpaid placement.
Each Placement student will be assigned an Academic Tutor by the University. Your Academic Tutor will offer you support throughout the year, answer any academic queries you may have and will visit you on placement during your placement year. You should also be assigned a Workplace Supervisor by your placement provider who will offer you day to day support. Both the Tutor and Workplace Supervisor will guide and support you during the year.
The year is assessed through: attendance and presentation at the Mid Placement Conference (30%) and the submission of a reflective portfolio of your placement experience comprising: learning log, visit report and analysis, learning agreement, employer appraisal and a case study (70%).
Next Steps
If you are applying for your course and know you want to do a placement year, look for the 4 year option of the course when you apply. If you are currently on a 3 year degree programme and would like to undertake a Sandwich Year placement you can opt to change your programme - just ask in the Faculty Office.
