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Placements

Student writing on a whiteboard

Financial Force - “We have had a great experience with our placement student and the university team have been a pleasure to work with. Thank you."

We are keen to work with local, national and international employers who would like to  access the talent and skills of our students. We can support the process of shaping the scope of placements, recruitment, shortlisting and suitable forms of agreement.     

For organisations with a nationwide placement programme, we can advertise your opportunities free of charge through our online portal, Handshake.

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity - "The placement was exceptional and the process was simple and easy."

The majority of students at York have the option to undertake a year in employment, either through a Department led Year In Industry Programme or the Placement Year programme. If you are interested in recruiting a placement student, please email careers-placements@york.ac.uk and we can advise you on how best to access the appropriate talent for your business needs. We also offer support with shorter term placements through York Internships.

 

Benefits to your business

Benefits to your business:

  • Recruit from a wide range of student talent from across many of our world class academic Departments
  • Engage the skills, enthusiasm and cutting edge thinking of a York student for up to 12 months
  • Provides a strong pipeline for future recruitment 
  • Offers a cost effective, low risk solution for your business needs
  • Peace of mind of employing quality and well supported students
  • Promotes your organisational values and culture to the graduate market

“Recruiters have confirmed that 32% of this year’s entry-level positions are expected to be filled by graduates who have already worked for their organisations” – The Graduate Market 2016, High Fliers Research Ltd

Placement Year Programme

  • This programme is led by Careers and Placements.  Your placement roles will be open to all Undergraduate and Integrated Masters students from a wide range of Departments such as Psychology, History and Maths. This would include Year In Industry programmes (see below).
  • The role must be challenging and prepare students for graduate level roles, however is not required to directly relate to a student’s subject of study, offering flexibility to students and employers.
  • Students would undertake the placement in their penultimate year, returning to the University after their placement for their final year of study.
  • The Placement Year is assessed and the student would be required to write a reflective report and complete a learning log outside of their working hours.
  • The student will be supervised by a member of the Careers and Placements team for the duration of their placement, offering the student and employer a dedicated contact during the placement. The Supervisor will make at least one visit during the placement.
  • You will have a dedicated contact within the Careers and Placements team to liaise with throughout the process.

To discuss your recruitment needs email careers-placements@york.ac.uk 

Year in Industry

  • Our Science, Politics and Management Departments lead Year In Industry programmes, which offer you the opportunity to recruit students keen to apply their specific subject knowledge and skills. Roles for a Year In Industry should relate closely to the degree discipline
  • The Year In Industry will be assessed according to the Department’s assessment criteria
  • The student will be supervised by an academic colleague within the Department offering you and the student a dedicated contact for the duration of the placement. The Supervisor will make at least one visit during the placement
  • Each Department with a Year In Industry programme has a dedicated Coordinator.

Recruitment support

We are here to make the process of recruiting a placement student as simple as possible so please do get in touch if we can support you in any of the following ways:

  • Project scoping
    • We can provide guidance on job descriptions along with job templates if required.
    • Contact careers-placements@york.ac.uk to discuss your recruitment needs. If required, we can help shape up your placement year offer to attract the appropriate candidates for your opportunity.
  • Advertising
    • Once your placement role is finalised, we can advertise through our free online portal, Handshake. For roles exclusive to York students, we recommend advertising in January/February.
  • Shortlisting
    • We can shortlist the most suitable candidates and send CVs and applications for you to review.
  • Interviews
    • We can help with interview arrangements and follow up.
    • Recruitment must be finalised by 31 May for students and the role must start between the end of June and early September.
  • Paperwork
    • If you are unable to arrange contracts directly, we can provide appropriate forms of agreement.
    • You will be required to sign and return our Placement Year due diligence documentation, prior to a student's start date.
  • Salary
    • You would be required to pay the student at least National Minimum Wage (NMW). We recommend the 23 and over NMW wage band. More specialist, technical roles are likely to require a higher salary.

On Placement support

A placement is aimed at providing our students with real life experience of professional, full time work; therefore we encourage students to use initiative and take responsibility in coming forward with any issues. Should any queries arise during a placement, you can expect to have full support from the University, and be safe in the knowledge that we are on hand for queries you or a student may have.

  • Dedicated contact
    • Both the employer and the student will be assigned a dedicated contact for the duration of the placement, offering support as and when needed
    • The Placements Team are on hand Monday - Friday to answer any queries
  • Visits and support
    • We will visit you and the student to see how the placement is going and answer any queries
    • We will contact the student periodically to keep in touch
  • Assessment guidance and Placement evaluation
    • We offer guidance for the student to complete their assessment (reflective blogs and report)
    • We will request your feedback and evaluation of the experience as a whole

Contact the Employer Engagement and Events Team