Year in industry questions

After completing your second year. Starting dates vary, but most students commence their placement some time between early June and late-September.

Some of the benefits include:

• Developing the key employability skills that graduate employers are looking for
• Developing an understanding of the relationship between academic theory and the real world experience
• Developing an understanding of workplace culture and discipline
• Developing an early career, professional network
• Gaining industry insight and insight into potential career options

Placements take place for a minimum of 26 weeks.

It is our policy only to promote placements that offer students at least the minimum wage. The current average salary for a Year in Industry is £19, 536.

We are aware that in some industries, such as music and media, it is common for placement students not to receive a salary. Whilst we do not endorse this, we would not prevent a student from completing an unpaid placement if they want to.

For the year you are away from campus, your study costs are £1850.

Absolutely!  It can be more difficult to find a placement overseas, but the University’s Careers and Employability Service can help and advise you.  In the past students have completed placements in China and the USA.  Most students complete their placements in the UK, but many have had the opportunity to travel to Europe and beyond in the course of their work. 

There are also certain concerns for us regarding overseas placements such as the level of employers liability insurance (or the equivalent) that will need to be confirmed to be at a level equivalent to the UK. We have a duty of care towards you as you are one of our students even though you are employed by the business for the year.

During your first year, you will complete a Placement Preparation Module, which will help you to research various business sectors to find the right one for you, to develop your CV and hone your interview skills. You’ll also have the opportunity to reflect on the transferrable skills that you already have, and to develop them further ready for the workplace.

During both the first and second year, you’ll receive support from the University’s Careers and Employability Service to seek out and apply for placements. You’ll need to be motivated and organised, but plenty of support is available! We do not provide placements for students, nor can we guarantee that every student will be successful in finding a placement.

Possibly – a number of our students have undertaken placements that have come about through their own personal connections. All placements are reviewed by the School’s Director of Placements to ensure that students will be working at a graduate level (comparable to that expected on a graduate training scheme) and that they have the opportunity to engage with a true learning and development experience in their workplace.

Provided that your placement opportunity meets these criteria, it should be fine. This is part of a programme of study and as such is regulated by the QAA so we need to ensure that the placement will enable you to meet our exacting standards.

Unfortunately, not all students are successful in finding a placement. Others decide that they would prefer to continue with their studies rather than complete an internship. Students in either situation simply transfer to the three year version of the degree programme, and graduate twelve months earlier than planned.

Provided that you successfully complete your first and second years of study, you will be have the opportunity to progress to your placement year and undertake an internship. However, there is strong competition for placements from students right across the UK, and employers can take their pick of academically-strong applicants. It’s therefore important that you work hard to achieve good grades in order to maximise your chance of success.

Yes, it is worth 10% of your overall degree classification. The year in industry is assessed through two reflective learning logs, with one submitted in December and one in May.

Each learning log will consist of four, reflective entries of between 700 - 750 words, that links the work place experience to the theory covered in year one and two, alongside further reading. Each learning log is worth 50% of the final assessment, with each one being given a mark out of 100.

Yes, there will still be some university work to complete whilst you work, but this has been designed so that it supports your own personal development in the workplace by asking you to reflect on your experiences and to relate this to some of the theory that you learned at University. Some students also take the opportunity to complete professional examinations or courses whilst they are on placement, often funded by their employer.

It is the aim of this programme that we develop nuanced and sophisticated practitioners who are able to make an impact on any organisation they work for. Your studies will allow you to develop a more critical stance towards the theory you have been learning at university and learn how to adapt it to your circumstances in a thoughtful and creative fashion. The aim of this part of your studies is to help you develop as a leader.

Every student is assigned their own ULMS supervisor, alongside having a workplace line manager. Your ULMS supervisor will visit you at your workplace and at an early stage of your placement and again later in the year. 

Your ULMS supervisor and Year in Industry support team will be available to respond to queries and able to offer support to you throughout the year. 

Our students have completed placements at a wide range of companies, from small and medium enterprises to major international conglomerations, including; Gymshark, Walt Disney, Canon, PWC, Unilever and Microsoft.

Locally, students have been placed at Liverpool Football Club, NHS, The Very Group and Williams Liverpool.

Students return to university in their fourth and final year to complete their degree.

Sessions are run at the start of semester one to re-acquaint the students with the academic environment and to look at employability options in relation to securing a graduate role. 

Some students have been offered full-time roles with their placement provider upon graduation, others are offered direct entry to the final stages of the interview process for the placement provider’s graduate scheme, it will all depend upon the individual companies recruitment policies.

Whether or not they have confirmed employment after completing their placement, all our students agree that the experience and skills that they develop during their placement year give them a real head start in the graduate employment market. 

Yes, but you have to be very organised!  A small number of our Year in Industry students have spent a semester studying abroad before undertaking a placement.  

No, these are only open to our single honours programmes.

This depends on the terms of your student visa.  Some visas allow students to work in the UK if this is a requirement of the degree programme.

For further advice about student visas, please see www.liverpool.ac.uk/studentsupport/visas-and-immigration or email ist@liv.ac.uk.