Professional Placements and Pathway

Academic excellence for business and the professions

ProfessionalPlacements and Pathway

Mohson KhanProfessional Liaison Unit

What You Will Find Out• We’ll tell you

– Why a professional placement is a good idea– When placements happen and where you work– What kinds of work you do– How we support you on placement

• City’s Professional Pathway– An alternative placement scheme and a unique reason

why students come to City

Industrial Experience: Why?

• A degree alone is not always enough – You also benefit from practical experience– Make yourself stand out in the graduate marketplace

• Practice makes perfect– Develop key transferable skills;

leadership, team-work, creativity

The Benefits of Placements• You get paid

– £12,000-20,000 p.a. for a typical IT placement

• May get a job offer when you graduate

• Experience of employers and types of work

• Ideas for your individual project

Improved education, employability and career prospects

Where Students Go…

What Students DoTomas – Games Programmer Monika – First line Support

What Students Do

Malak – Programmer & Data Analysis

Katherine - Systems Integration

Kunal - Technical Account Manager

Placement Process, Support• City has supported placements for over 20 years

– Specialists, experienced and integrated within your programme

• We support and assist you at all stages

– Industry knowledge - employer Q&A sessions, Hackathons, site visits, tech talks– Application Support - 1:1 advice on CVs, cover letters, applications– Visits from work based learning advisors– Assessed deliverables

The Professional Pathway (PP)

• Start professional work on completion of first year• Same course content and exams as full-time students

– Requires one day per week at City four days in employment

– Degree with pathway placement takes 4 yearsSame duration as one year placement students

Unique to City

Year 1

Professional Pathway (PP) : Route2nd and Final year split over 3 years

Year 2Study /

Employment

Year 3Study /

Employment

Year 4Study /

Employment

Graduate with 3 years professional IT work experience

Professional Pathway (PP): Benefits• Relevant paid work alongside studies

– Possible to graduate without debt

• Greater variety of placements over three years• Accelerated entry to workplace

– Producing graduates who meet employer requirements– Industry finds PP graduates highly employable

Professional Pathway Mechanics• Requirements:

– Overall performance of 55%+– Securing an approved placement that allows PP study

• Study:– Study the same course content as other students but at a slower pace

• Project work completed over summer

Placements Are Good For You• What do you get

– Improved education– Better career prospects– Paid

• What City offers you– A proven track record of supporting placements– A dedicated team to help you– A unique offering in UK Universities

• Questions?