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The University of Southampton
Careers, Employability and Student EnterpriseStaff

Year in Employment Placements

Providing many benefits to students and the University, the Year in Employment is an exciting opportunity for students to go out on placement in between years 2 and 3. For more information, please see our staff FAQ or get in contact with us. Please also see the programmes eligible for the Year in Employment and access the information below for more information about the support available.

The Year in Employment is a great opportunity for students
The Year in Employment is a great opportunity for students

What benefits will the Year in Employment bring?

The benefits of the Year in Employment include:

 

Students may ask you about the benefits of the Year in Employment or how they can apply.

There are many benefits for taking a placement year including the development of greater employability skills. As a result of students taking part in this programme, the University is likely to have a higher success rate in the Graduate Outcomes Survey which is used in many University league tables.  

If your student is interested in taking part in the programme and would like to know more, please direct them to our website or pass our contact details on to them. Additionally, we are more than happy to speak to academics from all departments to provide further guidance on the programme.

We encourage students considering a placement to discuss this with their Personal Academic Tutor. As such, we ask that you are familiar with Year in Employment Placements so that you are able to direct any interested students our way.

We recommend to students that they discuss the potential impacts of a placement on academic study and how a placement may impact module/dissertation choices when they return. Regarding the former, there has been research from the University of Bath which suggests that work placements can boost degree success. As for the latter, because students are enrolled whilst on placement, they will still receive all of the faculty office communications. 

We contact Personal Academic Tutors who have students undertaking placements and welcome any questions. 

The Year in Employment aims to support students who may otherwise have had to suspend their studies to go out on placement. As such, students may contact you first to ask about the possibility of suspending. We'd be grateful if you could inform them about Year in Employment Placements and refer them to our team via our website or email address workexp@southampton.ac.uk.

In addition to this, we also work with Faculty Offices throughout the placement year to ensure you are up to date with information about your students, including special consideration requests and the final assignment grades.

Year in Employment Placements provides better support for students on placement in comparison to those who suspend their studies.

Remaining enrolled at the University allows students to access services like the library, the Students' Union, support offered by the Student Disability and Inclusion team and others, as well as maintaining student discounts and council tax exemption. Furthermore, the Work Experience Team help prepare students for their placements, ensuring students can make the most of their experience throughout the year and in the future.

Through Year in Employment Placements, the Work Experience Team ensures that all placement providers complete a health and safety assessment before students begin their placement and remain a point of contact throughout the year for any queries or concerns.

Finally, the Year in Employment offers a better service to placement providers as we provide a point of contact with them before and during the student's placement. This helps organisations benefit more from the placement resulting in continued collaboration in the future.

Contact Us

We're more than happy to speak with you if you'd like more information on the Year in Employment or the impact on your work.

Email: workexp@southampton.ac.uk 

Telephone: +44 (0)23 8059 3501

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