Work Experience and Industry Placements
Provide a college student with the opportunity to spend time in your organisation, contributing to your business while gaining vital experience and learning new skills.
Industry and T level Industry placements give learners the opportunity to put into practice the skills they have learned in school or college.
Placements provide employers with extra support for their business from a student studying on a relevant course. The placement is a minimum of 45 days but can be longer if this suits the student and employer. The student and employer receive support from an appointed member of college staff before, during and after the placement to ensure everything works well
What are the benefits?
- Flexibility: take placement students to fit your business. Placements can be one or two days a week throughout the year; short blocks, one or two weeks at a time; medium blocks, a month at a time; longer blocks, a month or longer at a time; or any other way which fits your business needs.
- Develop staff management and supervisory skills: supervising or managing placement students can help to develop your employees’ leadership skills, boosting job satisfaction and retention.
- Foster future talent: get to know students and identify talented individuals who you may wish to offer employment to in the future. Young people bring a fresh perspective, good subject knowledge and skills, and energy to support your business.
- Extra help at no cost: industrial placement students carry out real work while developing their skills and knowledge. The placement forms part of their studies so they are not paid a salary. You can pay them if you wish or help with things like travel expenses.
- Boost your company’s reputation: people completing placements with you talk to their friends and family, and mention their experiences on social media. A good placement experience can quickly enhance your brand and make you a business people want to work for.
Who is it for?
All businesses that can support a young person get ahead in their chosen career.
How do I find out more and apply?
If you want to know more about supporting work experience or industry placements then sign up to the Lancashire Skills Pledge here.
Additional information
Managing Director of Wise Owl Creative Paul White said: “We have been really keen to encourage people to work in the creative industry in East Lancashire. One of the things we have struggled with is recruiting young talent as students head off to university and don’t want to return as they don’t realise the opportunities that are here.
“It’s about future workforce planning for us as a company as well as the short term impact of them contributing to the performance of the business by carrying out client work during the work placement.
“Our current work placement student Adrian, studying Level 3 Games Design at Nelson and Colne College, has been brilliant; he is committed, mature, creative, has fit in from day one and brings a totally fresh perspective.
“We’re really looking forward to learning more about T Levels in the coming months. I think they will bring twofold benefits to companies – they will get that short term positive impact of the student working for the organisation on the placement, and secondly, the raising awareness that great career opportunities are here on the doorstep of East Lancashire.“