Do I need work placement to get into university?
Work experience is an important feature of any strong university application. For certain degree courses, though, it's an essential entry requirement.
Applying to higher education is a competitive process and students who can show they have completed a period of work experience will have an advantage over those who haven't when it comes to applying to University courses. Evidence of work experience is an important feature of a strong UCAS application, as it shows a passion and enthusiasm for the subject and shows you have made an informed decision about your career intention.
Whilst for all students work experience is a desirable feature of a UCAS application, for some University courses work experience is essential and these are listed below.
Some Universities have specific requirements, so please always check on the entry requirements on the University sites or UCAS for the course you are applying for.
You are usually required to complete 120 hours or 5 weeks of clinical/health related work placement, in a range of ways including, virtual, in person, specialist Q&A and course online courses. You are encouraged to consider work experience in its broader context and whilst in person specific work experience is important and should be sourced, alternative options are also a good opportunity to develop linked transferrable skills.
NHS-funded healthcare courses (For more career information on health related jobs please click here.)
For courses such as nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and healthcare science, universities look for evidence of work experience or voluntary work in a health or social care setting. They may even ask for experience in more than one setting, so applicants understand the scope of the role. It is equally important that students use their work experience as a means of checking that a caring job is right for them, so encourage them to reflect on this before submitting an application. In addition, applicants have to demonstrate that they share the values and behaviours of the NHS Constitution. Work experience is the best way to provide evidence of these values for a UCAS application. NHS Trusts offer a limited number of placements in their local hospitals (search individual NHS Trust websites for these) – but they stress that this experience does not involve giving direct patient care.
Remember that there are many settings where students can get general care experience or develop communication skills, all of which will be useful to them. Think about placements at:
nursing or residential home, school, mental health unit, charities that help people with physical or learning disabilities
When applying for a medicine degree, universities look for work experience that demonstrates:
self-motivation and resilience, ability to reflect on and learn from life experiences, ability to communicate and interact effectively with others, an understanding of the values of the NHS Constitution.
Again, be creative and open-minded when searching for placements. Universities stress that these experiences do not necessarily have to come from health and social care settings. General care experience can be more valuable than just observing in a hospital or GP surgery.
Veterinary science/medicine (For more career information on veterinary science related jobs please click here and for veterinary nursing please click here.)
Animal Work experience is a vital component of your application to Veterinary Medicine - we recommend that you gain as much as possible in a variety of settings to maximise your chances of success.
Having a strong veterinary work experience portfolio can really make your application stand out above other Veterinary Medicine applicants, and is something that can be largely in your control (as opposed to examinations etc, where an element of luck / performance on the day can come into play), so you must endeavour to make the most of this.
Many universities have their own guidance for the amount of work experience required which includes up to 5 weeks practice with at least 3 weeks working directly with animals, some includes observing in a surgery and others in a vet practice setting. To be sure you have met the criteria for all of these, aim to complete all of the above with 100 hours+.
Possible examples of this could include but are not exhaustive - kennels, stables, rescue centres, research labs, abattoir work.
For teaching degrees, universities often ask for 10 days or more experience in a school. This is often easier to set up in a school that students, or their siblings, attended – so start by applying to any schools where they already have contacts. Get into Teaching offers a School Experience Programme where students can use a freephone number to enquire about possible local placements. The website also provides useful information on arranging placements. Any experience gained with children and young people will be useful, so talk to students about volunteering in youth clubs or within a scout or guide group, too.
It's likely that universities will expect applicants to have some direct experience of working in social care for social work degrees. This experience does not have to be gained in a local authority social services department. The British Association of Social Workers suggests this can be gained in youth clubs, advice services and voluntary agencies. For work experience involving contact with children or vulnerable adults, students may need a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and should leave ample time to arrange this.
Courses where work experience may be needed
Some degrees that lead to being qualified for a profession or specific area of work — such as accountancy, architecture, civil engineering, media production and town and country planning — may also expect students to have work experience.
For these, universities like to see applicants who have had some experience that demonstrates their interest in and suitability for a specific career. They may also look for commercial awareness - some understanding of how a business or profession operates on a daily basis and the reality of what it may be like to work in their chosen career.
Other ways to gain work experience since the pandemic of 2020
Work experience has long been recognised as an important element of skills development and school-to-work transitions for young people, but the Covid-19 pandemic has created unprecedented barriers to accessing placements. Here, we explore the value of virtual employer encounters and work placements helping young people to build their employability skills and progress their career journeys.
Completing virtual opportunities around this to support your knowledge and understanding are also key to having a successful university application. You can find out more about these by searching on Speakers4 Schools, Forage and SpringPod.
Project 1: Social action project/community volunteering
Project 2: Career/employability workshops
Project 3: Marketplace meeting the organisation.
Project 4: Employer talk linked to the student’s scheme of work
Project 5: Employer based work experience/workshop programme (traditional WP)
Project 6: FE/HE visits workplace trips
Employability programme 2023.pdf