FEATURE
Work placements have never been more important for future graduate employment. In a recent research study* over half of the recruiters who took part warned that graduates with no previous work experience have little or no chance of receiving a job offer from organisations’ graduate programmes. At Brighton over 90 per cent of full-time undergraduates have the chance to do assessed work-related learning as part of their course and we are working towards offering this opportunity to every student as part of our new strategic plan. The university has produced guidelines and best practice for work placements which provide practical advice to students – from researching companies to approach for placements and how to approach them; to considering the financial, practical and professional aspects of their chosen placement. This preparation and planning helps to balance student expectations and ambitions with the realistic and achievable potential experiences that will be available to them and is the key to a successful and rewarding placement year.
First and foremost I think my work placement gives me some serious CV advantage, a whole year of actual relevant work stands you in much better stead than a week here and a week there.” Rachel Braithwaite, Law with Business LLB student
*The Graduate Market in 2013, High Fliers Research
COMMUNITY UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME The university is internationally renowned for its Community-University Partnership Programme (Cupp) which links the work of students and academics to local community issues. Cupp runs a number of cross-university modules which include practical or research opportunities addressing real community need and enabling students to get real world experience as part of their mainstream curriculum.
10 Channel Magazine April 2013
Seminars attached to their practical projects introduce them to the different work sectors and how organisations are structured preparing them to think about where they might want to work and why.
BEEPURPLE The university’s beepurple entrepreneurship programme is made up of students, graduates and staff who are interested in developing their enterprise skills and their entrepreneurial ideas.
Some of the beneficiaries of the programme are already self-employed or have set up their own businesses and social enterprises. By taking part in beepurple activities, students get to meet like-minded people, hear how other recent graduates have set up their own ventures and gain key enterprise skills that will help them stand out from the crowd. The university Springboard grants offer sums of up to £1,000 to support entrepreneurial projects.