GoUni Tips - Education

Experience is more important than education, many people believe this saying is indeed true. At many UK universities, there is an opportunity for students to gain a real life working experience for a period of 9-12 months during their undergraduate studies. Learning outside the classroom, students will be able to broaden their horizon by working directly in the field of their interest as part of their school assessment. 😀 If you are keen to know more about this programme, feel free to read today's blog :) 💚

Key Information ✔️

Sstudents who are starting their second year in September 2017 will be the first cohort to participate in this work placement programme. The work placement will start in September 2018, with them returning to study in September 2019, and graduate in 2020.

The placements will be a paid, full-time position in the UK. Normally placements are between 9 and 12 months in length.

Why is it a good idea to do the work placement? ✔️

• You gain practical experience of working in a business and industry
• You will receive an anticipated salary of £16,000, which is rather high.
• You will develop graduate employability skills
• You will get higher overall grade on graduating ( For example, 100% of Newcastle University London placement students got a 2:1 or 1^st)
• If you perform well during the placement, it can lead to a graduate job offer later once you are done with your degree.

Companies ✔️

The top companies that Newcastle students have gone to the interviews include:

• Nike
• Marks and Spencer’s
• Porsche
• HP
• L’Oréal
• Warner Brothers
• PWC
• Disney
• P&G
• Microsoft
• Unilever
• BMW
• KPMG

These are all highly-acknowledge organisations and if you happen to have work experiences with them early on in your career, rest assure that you will a great CV. 👏🏼

On Placement ✔️

While on placement, students will be expected to do a range of tasks, just like a real employee of the company. Companies will train them in the fields of management, sales, business development, marketing, human resources, finance, operations, business analysis, recruitment, audit and more. With the placements, students are expected to become better experts in the fields that they are already good at, and experience other fields that they might not have had any experience in previously.

How to prepare/Getting started ✔️

• Prepare your CV and have this checked by the school careers service
• Get work experience over the summer holiday if this is possible
• Start looking for placements from the summer – most of the placements begin to be advertised in September the year prior to the placement year
• Many business schools in the UK have information to hand about getting placements which will be emailed to all students – use this!

Integrating a placement year into your degree is a great way of developing skills and gaining a better understanding of the world of work!

Applications will start in September and close between November and February. Watch out for great opportunities in Recruitment fairs 😆

For those of you who are interested in studying at a UK university and keen to apply for a work placement year, contact us GoUni team and we will help guide you through the application process. 🇬🇧 Your dream of having a work experience in the UK will happen more easily with our assistance.