Placements Booklet

8/22/2019 Placements Booklet

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Employers guide

to student

work placements

Lincoln Business School

University of Lincoln


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Introduction

Professional Practice Year (PPY)- What do employers gain from employing business students?

About the University of Lincoln and the Business School

Courses studied by Business students

Skills our students have to offer

What students gain from work placements

What is expected from an employer?

The support provided by the Business School

What makes a suitable placement?

Employers who take our placement students

Interested? What to do next

Contents

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We are delighted that you havetaken, or are thinking of taking, oneof our students on a placement year,known in the Business School as theProfessional Practice Year, or PPY.

This booklet is intended to give youinformation on what to expect from aplacement, the requirements of theUniversity of Lincoln on the placement

student and placement organisationand details of the help and supportavailable should it be needed.

Introduction

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A low cost employee with nosupplementary charges (e.g. pensioncontributions); the only cost being thestudents wage during the placementperiod.

A low risk method of recruitmentwith no advertising or agency fees. Theopportunity to assess the student as apotential permanent employee in the

future.

Savings in both time and money intraining, due to the students ability tocontribute immediately to both projectsand team work, as well as administrativeand junior management posts.

A valuable human resource in theseturbulent times perhaps for particularneeds e.g. reorganisation of departments,research projects, fullling largeorders, special campaigns, seasonalrequirements, maternity leave andunforeseen staff shortages.

The University of Lincoln is a placeof high ambition, an institution whoseprogress since it was created in 2001 hasbeen rapid and solidly grounded. Seeingitself as a 21st century expression of theold university ideal where the studentfocus is paramount at the s ame time asfullling the modern tasks of knowledgecreation and transfer for the economic,social and cultural benet of our society.

In December 2010 the Business andLaw Schools moved into new premiseson the eastern edge of the UniversitysBrayford (Lincoln) campus. The BusinessSchool has strategic and operationalresponsibility for the LincolnshireLeadership and Management Centrewhich is located in the same building.The key factors in the development ofthe Schools core business areas arethe employability of its students and theestablishment of long-term, strategicpartnerships with

Private businesses.

Public sector organisations.

Not for prot organisations and

charities.

Professional bodies.

About the University of Lincoln and the Business SchoolProfessional Practice Year (PPY)

The opportunity to invest now in thecompanys development for the longterm. Your company or organisationwill be recognised by students as anemployer committed to the recruitment ofbusiness graduates.

The benet of being associatedwith a rapidly developing university.Your organisations involvement will be

recorded and mentioned in both our ownin-house publicity and in regular pressreleases.

The opportunity to forge links with theresearch facility and business expertisethat the Lincoln Business School haveto offer. Our staff can give professionalconsultancy advice concerning anyin-company projects that you may wish toundertake.

A short term opportunity for employersto ll the skills gap in the job market withhighly motivated staff.

The chance to inuence creativelythe content of the Universitys educationprogramme. Feedback from employersalways plays a vital part in makingour courses relevant to the businesscommunitys needs.

The added satisfaction of knowingthat you are playing an important role inproviding tomorrows managers with the

experience that they need today.

A well motivated employee who cancombine theoretical knowledge and afresh insight with enthusiasm.

The chance to build closer links withthe University with a view to developingfurther projects for example throughthe Knowledge Transfer PartnershipScheme. For more information see thenational KTP site www.ktponline.org.uk.

What do employers gain from employing our students?

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Our students are familiar with areas such asaccounts, advertising, business, event management,nance, general management, human resourcemanagement, international business management,languages, marketing and tourism.

Our students are able to apply anddevelop a broad range of transferableskills and qualities. They are competentin dealing with both the people and theprocesses involved in business and theirskills include:

Skills our students have to offerCourses studied by Business students

Business analysis skills theapplication of statistical techniques tocompany operations, problem solvingand decision making, management ofchange.

Business practice skills numericalskills, organisational ability, memo andreport writing, professional telephone andemail manner and keyboard skills.

Marketing and advertising skills -presentations, market research andanalysis and consumer behaviour.

Finance and accounting skills understanding accounting concepts,conventions and ratios, interpretingnancial information, evaluating costs,use of IT, budget statements, reviewingpublished accounts.

Language skills oral, readingand writing skills in certain speciedlanguages, awareness of the cultural andbusiness environment of the respectivecountries.

People skills the effectivecommunication of ideas, listening,persuasion, discretion, group roles andactivities, team work, self-developmentand time management.

Management skills managing ateam, leadership skills, creative thinking,planning tasks to achieve specic results.


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A period of work experienceas part of a higher educationcourse can make a signicantdifference to a studentsemployability.

In this day and age the job markethas become more and morecompetitive as many companiesare looking for applicants who havealready obtained a substantialamount of work experience.Internship - UK

The placement should enablestudents to:

Perform a job of work which isof practical benet and value to thehost employer.

Relate the knowledge and skillsacquired during their courts to thepractical aspects of business in thereal world.

There are several key elements to asuccessful placement:

Employing the student in a jobthat really needs doing and is ofsome consequence to the employer.

The setting of goals for thestudents to achieve. Our studentstend to respond very positively toany challenge, so setting realisticbut stretching targets is useful.

The identication of a work-placesupervisor to whom the studentcan relate. The supervisor canprovide observation and adviceon, for example, new opportunitieswhich have opened up, or areasof weakness which need attention.The Placement Ofcer or Tutor willalso be able to assist.

What is expected from an employer?What students gain from placements

Gain practical work experience,including working as part of a teamand in using their own initiative.

Experience the operationalconstraints and any specialpractices which the job entails.

Gain knowledge and experienceof the nature of the work and thespecial characteristics of the hostorganisation.

Gain insight into their ownabilities, aptitudes, employmentpotential and possible careerchoice. Develop professionalattitudes.

Enter into professionalrelationships with employers in theeld of their planned careers.

Further enhance their languageability where applicable.

For the rst couple of weekssupervision could be quite timeconsuming but, as the placementproceeds, the student should belargely self-sufcient and should betreated as one of the staff.

We deliberately do not take upemployers time with administrativepaperwork, although feedbackon our students performance iswelcomed, either formally, through

the employers appraisal schemefor instance, or informally.

We also ask employers torelease students for a special CallBack Day held at the Universityof Lincoln in the spring of theirplacement year.


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Students are given carefulpre-placement guidance to create a highlevel of awareness of what is expected ofthem in a company or organisation and ahandbook giving details both on how toprepare for a placement and guidelinesfor when on their placement.

Students will be visited during theirplacement by a Placement Tutor. Theyare there to help match the needs of thestudent and University to those of the

employer.

A large variety of roles are suitable for awork placement. Here are just some ofthe jobs that our students have done inthe past few years:

Marketing executive

Project management

Business development and

administration

Events assistant

What makes a suitable placement?The support provided by the Business School

Counselling and support forstudents is given by contact with thetutor or the placement ofce at theUniversity of Lincoln throughout theperiod. Arrangements for visits will bemade through the company, at theirconvenience.

Students are advised that asemployees, they will be subject tothe regulations and practices of theirworkplace and of their fellow workers.

Different companies will offer a differentexperience to their students whichare equally suitable. For instance,large organisations may providedepth and illustrate the importance ofefcient bureaucracy, whereas smallerorganisations may provide breadth andan appreciation of informal modes ofbehaviour.

Ideally our students will be givenwork where they will have to make

management decision, although weappreciate that this is not alwayspossible. Although routine work will beexpected as part of a larger job, hopefullyit will not predominate to the extent thatcourse objectives cannot be met.

Students are reminded that theyare ambassadors for the Universityof Lincoln. They will be expected tobring high levels of commitment andperformance to their employer.

Should students be involved inmatters which the employer considerssensitive, business condentiality will beobserved and discretion maintained.

Objectives for the placement can beagreed at the start of the period of workexperience. These may take the formof task orientated objectives (oftenrelated to a job specication), personalobjectives and knowledge acquisitionobjectives. The placement tutor can helpwith setting these.

Assessment is based on the keepingof a placement portfolio by the student,

the writing of interim and nal brief

reports, by the placement tutor andstudent and feedback from the employer.

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Employers are likely to vary from large corporation, though public sector businesses,to accounting practices, management consultancies and small-to-medium enterprises.

If you feel your organisation couldbenet from taking a Businessstudent on a placement, pleasecontact the Business School usingthe contact details on the back cover.

You can discuss your requirementsdirectly with the EmployabilityManager who can help to draw upa job specication if necessary andthen advertise the placement within

the University of Lincoln.

If a student negotiates his/her ownplacement directly with an employer,this will then be checked by theplacement tutor to ensure the worktted degree course requirements.Placements are the individualchoice of students and employersand legally there is a contract onlybetween these parties.

Interested? What to do nextEmployers who take our placement students

Feedback from recent employers:

Claire has been a pleasure to have on the team grown in condence, vast knowledge of company.

GE Healthcare.

Highly motivated, excellent asset to team. Excellent

computer skills and knowledge spreadsheet genius.Incredibly motivated.IBM.

Devon has been a fantastic addition to the Ford Fleetteam.

Ford Motor Company.

An asset to the company. Ester was offered part-

time work during nal year and full time job upon

graduation.

Arnold Wills & Co.

Highly motivated. Positive outlook. Excellent with

customers. Best trainee ever had dont want to let

him go.Enterprise Rent a Car.

Our students are ideally seekingpaid work placements lasting for afull year, full-time and starting in thesummer. We recognise, however,that this does not necessarily suitemployers needs, so students arealso available for shorter periods,either through the summer or on apart-time basis during their courseyear. For the latter, projects that arecompatible with course content and

time scales are sought after and area cost-effective way of accessing ourstudents.

If you have an enquiry about workplacements please contact:

Business Relations Manager


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Stephanie Schiaffonati01522 835516 (direct)

[email protected]

Lincoln Business SchoolUniversity of Lincoln

Brayford PoolLincoln LN6 7TS

Documents

Placements Booklet