From 7th May to 7th June 2019, over 1,400 undergraduate students embarked on a professional work placement, with the intention of building on knowledge gained throughout their course and developing their employability skills. Below are a selection of social media posts and quotes provided by our students and placement hosts, which showcase the wonderful work our students have been doing on placement.
Week 1: Settling in…
For our students, the first week of placement was all about learning about their host company and getting to know their role and responsibilities. It was the perfect time to explore their strengths and weaknesses, and consider the skills they would like to develop over the five weeks.
This year it was particularly lovely to see our students warmly welcomed into their placement teams, being celebrated on company social media pages and being given real responsibility in the workplace!
Former student Annie L was back @LPGSBromley to complete work experience for her course @uochesterpic.twitter.com/jRVUM6nulk
— LangleyParkGirlsSch (@LPGSBromley) 9 May 2019
We're very lucky to have the lovely Faith here with us on a 5 week work based placement. Faith is a student at @uochester & is carrying out a county lines literature review for us. Great work from Gemma our Student & Placement Lead & @davrosclarke of @ucshrewsbury #excitingtimes pic.twitter.com/w6GrsdaGK8
— Young Addaction Shropshire (@AddactionYoung) 14 May 2019
Weeks 2-4: Getting stuck in…
The main bulk of the placement period looked very different for each student depending on their placement provider. While some students had projects that lasted the entirety of the five weeks, others were completing tasks that varied day-to-day, giving them a real insight into their host company.
Human Nutrition student, Charlotte, completed her placement as a Food Technology and Science Technician at the NoWFOOD centre. She explained that although she was nervous at the beginning of her placement, by the second week she was handling clients independently, calling the process ‘entirely transformative’.
Isaac, a Cyber Security student based at IT support company Ten Ten Systems, told us that the most enjoyable aspect of his placement was being trusted to complete tasks by himself, explaining that he found ‘learning from the business side so different to learning in class’.
Similarly, Ocean, a Law student who undertook a placement at Gray and Co Criminal Defence Solicitors, said, ‘the opportunity to work alongside the top criminal defence lawyers in Cheshire has been the best introduction to the legal field I could have hoped for’.
A busy afternoon analysing some very large industry data sets by our fantastic interns from @uoc_business ---- & @SusquehannaU ---- well-done lads! #mychesterstory #Datacenter pic.twitter.com/dCzr0pFyBG
— Dr. Henry Sidsaph (@sidsa56) 24 May 2019
Week 5: Wrapping up!
The last week of placement provided the ideal opportunity for our students to reflect on their achievements and consider their skill development. These ranged from specific employability skills, such as adaptability, time-management and teamwork, to a much more generalised overall improvement in confidence. It has been great to see that many of our students have been an asset to their placement teams, and that their work has been valued and appreciated by their placement providers. Although the five week module has finished, many of our students have chosen to continue to volunteer with their placement organisations!
Bethan is a Psychology student who was based at The Port Grocery, a community food hub in Ellesmere Port. She told us, ‘this placement has opened my eyes to a career path I wouldn’t have considered if I hadn’t had this opportunity. I can definitely see an opportunity to use my degree within this area’.
Fine Art student, Rosalind, who completed a placement as a Marketing and Fundraising Assistant at Adoption Matters, feels she has particularly developed both her IT and communication skills and explained, ‘my Work Based Learning placement has given me the experience and confidence I need to prepare for a career after graduation’.
It’s been a great few weeks for Hybrid. These boys have been a massive help. Thank you to @uochester for letting us have them on work placement. pic.twitter.com/KthcFjBMTv
— David Wilson (@HybridDW) 25 May 2019
Today we said goodbye to Beth who has been with us for the last five weeks on a Work Based Learning pleacement from Chester University @WBLChester We look forward to welcoming Beth as a Volunteer. pic.twitter.com/T0qH578Dn9
— Passion for Learning (@P4LCheshire) 7 June 2019
We had such a great 5 weeks with Charlene & Ifan from @uochester as part of their @WBLChester programme
Charlene and Ifan completed work experience with @73degreefilms helping out with events and projects like the @focuswales #FilmFestival#filmproduction #uniofchester pic.twitter.com/MLHPpsQ426— 73 Degree Films (@73degreefilms) 12 June 2019
Congratulations to all of our students who have completed Work Based Learning this year, we hope it has been an enjoyable and valuable experience that will positively influence your future career path.
Here are some final words from Criminology student, Faith, who was based at drug and alcohol support charity, Young Addaction. ‘[Work Based Learning] has proven to be the best experience for me in preparation for future work, and it has also helped me with skills to develop my university work, so do not expect this module to only help you with [employability] skills, as it has helped me in all aspects!’.
